A Sri Lankan woman touring the city in Chennai was killed when the cab she was travelling in with her family plunged nearly 20 feet into the RBI subway at Parrys. The police said being a Sunday, there was relatively less traffic in the subway, else there would have been more casualties, the NIE reported.

“The driver, Muthishwaran, seemed to have been over speeding and lost control of the vehicle when he rammed on the parapet wall of the subway,” said a traffic investigations wing official. The parapet wall of the half-century-old subway gave way and the car plunged into the middle of the subway, missing the lane for two-wheelers located at a higher elevation in the subway.

Police officers said the car “landed a little safely”. The family inside was rushed to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, but hospital sources said Shithiki Rithviya (54) had already succumbed to injuries. Rithviya was visiting Chennai with her sons, Mohammed Ashad Rabat (34) and Mohammed Ajmal (30), and daughter-in-law Jima Nazad Amjal. Police sources quoting the family said they were returning to their hotel at Mannady after shopping at T Nagar.

“If this didn’t happen on a Sunday, there would have been more casualties,” said a police officer, highlighting how busy the subway would be on weekdays. The family had originally planned to leave for Sri Lanka on May 3.

-Agencies