Four people were killed on the spot when the SUV in which they were travelling collided head-on with a sand-laden lorry on National Highway-48 near the Jodigatte-Hirihalli village of the taluk in the wee hours of Wednesday.

Govinda, 30, Venkatesh, 50, and driver Manjunath, 50, of Banahalli village in Anekal taluk of Bangalore Urban district and Paparaju, 44, of Bagur village in Hoskote taluk of Bangalore Rural district are the dead. The four friends were on their way to Dharmasthala from Bangalore in the Tata Qualis vehicle when the accident occurred at 3.30 am.

The lorry was on its way to Hassan. Police had to use a crane to extricate the lorry and the SUV from each other. They had a tough time pulling out the bodies of the victims stuck in the SUV. The driver and the cleaner of the lorry fled the accident spot. Superintendent of Police Amit Singh and DySP Pradeep Kumar visited the spot.