Hyderabad: A 36-year-old autorickshaw driver was crushed to death under a tree that fell on his vehicle at the Hyderguda traffic signal, at about 1.30 pm on Saturday, in front of an ice-cream parlour near Old MLA quarters.
The victim, Mohammed Ghouse Pasha, was heading towards Himayathagar and had stopped at the signal along with another autorickshaw and two cars, Narayanguda police said.
The diver in the other autorickshaw escaped with a head injury and a fractured leg. The two cars were partially damaged.
Mohammed Fazal, a shop employee, who witnessed the accident, said that a florist nearby had informed him that an RTC bus had hit the tree earlier in the day and this could have weakened its roots.
An auto driver died on the spot, after suddenly a huge tree fell on his auto rickshaw, near old MLA Quarters in Hyderabad.#Hyderabad #RoadSafety #tree pic.twitter.com/LnOMpJJ0l8
— Surya Reddy (@jsuryareddy) September 2, 2023
Ghouse Pasha, a resident of MS Makta, was the only breadwinner of the family. His cousin Feroz said Pasha had to get his two younger sisters married and take care of his paralysed father Sardar Pasha.
Ghouse Pasha used to work for ride-hailing apps for 16 hours a day to support his family. His elder daughter Anam Faima, 6, had joined school this year and he was planning to get his two-year-old daughter Aliya Fatima also admitted in school, his cousin Shaker Basha said.
The mishap caused a traffic jam. Narayanguda inspector U. Chandra Shaker said police called the Disaster Response Force (DRF) to help. He said 33 police personnel and 20 DRF members diverted traffic and cleared the road by 3.45 pm.
Following the incident, power was shut down in the area. Police organized an earthmover to move the tree.
