Chennai, Dec 26 : A tragic road accident claimed the lives of a man and his two children when the car they were travelling in collided with another vehicle in Chengalpattu district on the Chennai-Tiruchi highway on Thursday.

The deceased have been identified as Ganapathy (40), his daughter Hema (13), and his son Bala (10).

Three other family members, including Ganapathy's wife Sarannya (35), her sister Jaya (30), and her daughter Divya (3), have been admitted to the Chengalpattu Government Medical College Hospital and are undergoing treatment for injuries.

According to the police, Ganapathy and his family were travelling from Chennai to Dindigul when a car heading in the opposite direction toward Chennai lost control and collided with their vehicle, resulting in the fatal incident.

This is the latest in a string of road accidents in Tamil Nadu in one month. On December 12, a tragic collision in Coimbatore district claimed the lives of three individuals from Kerala, including a two-month-old infant. The accident occurred in Madhukarai when the Alto car they were travelling in collided with a truck. The deceased were identified as Jacob Abraham (60), his wife Sheeba (55), and their grandson Aaron (2 months), all residents of Eraviperur in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala.

Jacob's daughter Aleena (21), who is also the mother of Aaron, remains hospitalised in critical condition. The family was travelling to Bengaluru from Pathanamthitta when the accident occurred.

In another fatal incident on November 27, a minibus collided with a moped on the National Highway in Salem. The moped rider, P. Periyasamy (60), a resident of Veerapandiyar Nagar in Salem, died instantly. The bus, carrying 30 passengers, overturned and caught fire due to a fuel tank leakage. Fortunately, all passengers managed to escape unhurt.

Despite these incidents, Tamil Nadu Police reported a 5 per cent reduction in fatal road accidents and deaths from January to July 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.

According to Director General of Police Shankar Jiwal, a total of 10,066 fatal accidents were reported in the first seven months of 2024, resulting in 10,546 deaths. This marks an improvement compared to the 10,589 accidents and 11,106 deaths reported during the same period in 2023.

Key measures contributing to this improvement include stricter enforcement of traffic rules, campaigns against drunken driving, deployment of highway patrols on National Highways, analysis of accident hotspots, and rectification of road defects. The Tamil Nadu Police emphasise that these initiatives have significantly improved road safety in the state.

/IANS