LUCKNOW: Four members of a family, including two children, were killed after a speeding truck veered off the Basti–Khalilabad highway and crashed into a house in Uttar Pradesh’s Sant Kabir Nagar district early on Monday morning.The truck ran over family members sitting on a cot outside their home before overturning and crashing into the house.The accident occurred at around 5.30 am near Kurthiya crossing under Kotwali Khalilabad police station, about 15 km from the district headquarters.According to police, the truck was travelling from Khalilabad towards Basti when the driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle.A preliminary investigation suggests the driver may have dozed off at the wheel, causing the truck to leave the highway, veer onto the roadside and continue for nearly 30 metres, crushing the family before overturning.The deceased have been identified as Lalji (62), his wife Gyanmati (60), and their grandsons Adarsh (12) and Satyam (6).Police said Lalji’s two-room house is located along the highway and has a tin shed in front. The elderly couple were sitting on a cot beneath the shed when their grandsons, Adarsh and six-year-old Satyam, who had just woken up, joined them outside moments before the tragedy struck.Satyam, the son of Rajesh and a resident of Pakri Araji village under Dudhara police station, had arrived at his grandparents’ house only two days earlier.The truck, travelling at high speed, reportedly gave the family no time to react.It ran over the cot, crushed all four victims and crashed into the house, triggering panic in the neighbourhood. Hearing the loud crash, residents rushed to the spot and alerted the police.Senior police officers, including the Additional Superintendent of Police, Circle Officer, Station House Officer and Traffic Inspector, reached the accident site.A crane was brought in to remove the overturned truck, after which the victims trapped underneath were pulled out.All four were rushed to hospital by ambulance, where doctors declared them dead. The bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination, and further legal proceedings are under way.The truck driver and his helper fled the scene immediately after the accident and remain absconding. Police have launched a search to trace and arrest them.Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the loss of lives and conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family. He directed district officials to ensure proper treatment for any injured people, instructed authorities to provide all possible assistance to the victims’ family, and wished those injured a speedy recovery.
