AGARTALA: At least six people, including women, were injured after a speeding Bolero pickup vehicle allegedly bearing a CPWD sticker rammed into an auto-rickshaw near Bamutia Block, under Airport Police Station, on Wednesday morning.
The pickup vehicle, bearing registration number TR 01 V 1686, reportedly collided head-on with the auto-rickshaw (TR 01 K 2629), crushing its front portion and trapping the driver and a passenger inside after the steering wheel broke. The victims, commuting to work at the time, were among six people injured in the crash.
The driver of the pickup vehicle fled the scene immediately after the collision and remains untraced, sources said.
According to eyewitnesses, the injured remained trapped for nearly an hour and a half with no immediate presence of disaster management personnel, fire services, or police at the site. Local residents subsequently intervened, rescuing the trapped victims and rushing them to hospital.
The incident has reportedly reignited public concern in the state over delayed emergency response to road accidents, drawing comparisons to a previous case that had sparked similar criticism.
Police are yet to issue an official statement. Efforts are underway to trace the absconding driver.