Ahmedabad | At least 15 people were crushed by a truck in western India as they slept by the side of the road overnight Monday to Tuesday, authorities said.
Among the deceased were a little girl, eight women and six men, said police official Usha Rada in Suraj district of Gujarat state.
Six other people were injured. The truck collided with a tractor carrying sugar cane just after midnight at a crossroads.
“The driver of the truck (…) lost control of the vehicle which, on leaving the road, crushed workers who were sleeping on the edge,” said police officer CM Jadeja.
Police said the truck and tractor drivers were both arrested.
In 2019, more than 150,000 people were killed in some 500,000 crashes on Indian roads, or 410 deaths per day or 17 deaths per hour, according to government data.
Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Monday while launching a month-long national campaign for road safety that the government hopes to halve the number of road deaths and accidents by 2025.