A pregnant woman and an 11-month old baby were among eight people killed in a multiple-vehicle collision on the Salem-Coimbatore National Highway on Friday (March 20, 2026). Four others were injured.The accident occurred around 11 a.m. when a government bus travelling to Salem from Erode with more than 30 passengers lost control near Utamasolapuram. The bus, driven by Ayyandurai, 49, of Periya Vanavasi in Salem district, allegedly suffered a brake failure, causing the driver to lose control.The bus veered onto the opposite side of the highway and collided with a two-wheeler and a pickup van. The van was carrying 11 people from Neikarapatti who were on their way to Kalparapatti to attend a temple festival.Four people died on the spot, while eight others sustained grievous injuries. Local residents and passersby rescued the injured and sent them to private and government hospitals in ambulances.Among those killed in the pickup van were Selvaraj, 60, of Neikarapatti; his granddaughters Jeevika, aged 11 months, and Nithishka, 5; his daughter-in-law Sathya, 25, who was three months pregnant; and relatives Amutha and Murugan. Selvaraj’s son Meganathan, 23, who was driving the van, was among the injured and is undergoing treatment at a private hospital along with three others.Police identified the other deceased as S. Manikandan, 21, a second-year college student, and his mother S. Irusayee, 50, residents of Santhanakarankadu near Puthur, who were travelling on a two-wheeler to a nearby hospital at the time of the accident.The Kondalampatti police arrived at the spot, conducted inquiries, and sent the bodies to Salem Government Hospital for postmortem.After the accident, the bus driver fled the scene but was apprehended within an hour and arrested. The police are also questioning the bus conductor Balakrishnan, 46, a resident of Namakkal district.Salem District Collector R. Brindha Devi and Salem South Regional Transport Officer Raja Pandian visited the spot and conducted inquiries.Traffic on the Salem-Coimbatore National Highway was disrupted for more than an hour following the accident. CCTV footage from a petrol bunk near the spot captured the incident.Published - March 20, 2026 06:27 pm IST