JOIN USAfter truck crash, whisky to savour
In the melee, the entire consignment, cartons included, was spirited away in no time.
About 20 per cent of the entire cache went down the drain with the impact but even the broken bottles and torn cartons were carried away.
Around 6 am, a Canter vehicle (KA-45-1703) laden with liquor worth about Rs 12 lakh attached to JP Distilleries, started off from Makali and was moving towards Whitefield (KSPCL godown). On reaching Hoodi circle traffic intersection, one of its right tyres burst and the driver lost control of the vehicle. In an attempt to avoid hitting an electricity pole on the road median, he steered to the left. Since the truck was moving at high speed, it toppled and cruised on its side some distance before coming to a rest.
A few cartons flew off the vehicle and as they landed on metalled road, the bottles broke with liquor splashing all over.
The clink of the breaking bottles and the alcohol fumes attracted passersby and residents of Mahadevapura, Cauvery Nagar and Singanapalya who immediately got down to business, collecting the bottles that survived the crash. As word of “free liquor” spread like wildfire, more people rushed to place and picked whatever they could.
Mani, a lucky plumber, told Deccan Herald: “I was pedaling my way to work and saw some people carrying cartons. When I learnt it was liquor, I too joined and even called my neighbours and informed them about the accident.
Once everything was emptied, the cleaner of the truck was pulled out of the damaged vehicle and taken to hospital. By the time the police arrived, the liquor, mainly whisky, had vanished.”
Sensing trouble, the driver, who sustained minor injuries, fled the scene, while Kumar, an assistant, is being treated for multiple fractures at a nearby hospital.
Ashok, the vehicle owner, brushed aside the incident saying, “such things happen because of technical snags”.
Inquiries with K R Puram traffic police revealed that “those concerned were not interested in claiming insurance for the vehicle”. They instead went to Mahadevapura Law and Order police station and filed a first information report.