Panic gripped the Darkoli square area in Mayurbhanj district after a series of road accidents on National Highway-18 led to a chain collision on Wednesday. The incident began when a pickup van rammed into a car moving along the highway. Within moments, a speeding truck crashed into the pickup van, resulting in a three-vehicle pile-up.
The impact left three occupants of the pickup van critically injured. Locals rushed to their aid and shifted them to a nearby hospital for treatment. Police reached the spot soon after, seized the truck and pickup van, and launched an investigation into the mishap. Meanwhile, the driver of the car allegedly fled the scene with the vehicle and remains absconding.
Traffic movement on the busy highway was temporarily disrupted but was later restored after the damaged vehicles were removed. Authorities are probing the exact cause of the accident.
