KARACHI: The death toll from a multi-vehicle crash on the M9 Motorway a day earlier rose to 13 on Saturday while police also registered a first information report (FIR) on several charges, including unintentional murder.
The executive director of the trauma centre at Civil Hospital, Dr Mohammed Sabir Memon, told Dawn that six injured people were brought to the facility on Friday evening.
Of them, a six-year-old boy died during treatment, he said. He added that one patient had been discharged while four others were still under treatment, including one in critical condition.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Edhi Foundation said in a statement that the 12 other victims all belonged to the same family.
Meanwhile, Gadap police Station House Officer (SHO) Sarfraz Jatoi told Dawn that the police had registered an FIR under sections 320 (unintentional homicide caused by rash or negligent driving) and 337-G (injuries) of the Pakistan Penal Code and relevant sections (3, 4, 5 and 115) of the Motor Vehicles Ordinance on the complaint of Motorway police Sub-Inspector Mushtaq Ahmed.
He said that four vehicles were involved in the accident. He said that the drivers of two vehicles (an oil tanker and a Hilux pickup) were killed on the spot.
He said that the driver of the third vehicle (trailer) was released after an initial probe. However, the driver of the fourth vehicle, a passenger van, managed to escape from the scene.
The officer said that during the initial probe, it emerged that the driver of the tanker was driving rashly.
Initially, the driver of the tanker hit the trailer and the heavy vehicle went out of control, colliding with the Hilux pickup and the bus, which were both travelling in the wrong direction. He said the tanker also had a “fitness issue”.
According to the contents of the FIR, the complainant said that he and other staff rushed to the spot after receiving information about the accident.
He said he saw the drivers of the tanker and the Hilux pickup had died on the spot. During the examination of the damaged vehicles, it transpired that the tanker and the trailer were travelling in the right direction while the passenger van and the Hilux pickup were travelling in the wrong direction.
The complainant quoted witnesses as saying that the passenger van and the Hilux pickup were coming from the wrong direction when they collided with the tanker. He said that prior to this, the tanker had hit the trailer, causing both vehicles to spiral out of control. As per the FIR, the driver of the coach had managed to escape from the spot.
During examination of the damaged vehicles, it transpired that the passenger coach did not have a route permit or a fitness certificate and was also fined in the past, the complainant said.
As per the FIR, during the examination of the tanker, there was no fitness certificate found nor did the driver have a licence.
