Archive · 6 Sep 2026
Eight Engineering Students Killed in Kerala Highway Crash
Eight college students from Tamil Nadu were travelling together in Kerala.
They were making videos and smiling shortly before the accident.
Their car was travelling on NH-66 at night.
It hit the back of a goods lorry near a road construction area.
Seven students died immediately or soon after the crash, and the eighth later died in hospital.
Rescue workers had to cut open the badly damaged car.
Investigators are checking whether speeding, poor lighting and unsafe lorry parking played a role.
The lorry driver was arrested, and officials ordered inspections of highway safety arrangements.
The students’ families and friends later gathered for funerals in Tamil Nadu.
Eight students from PSNA College of Engineering and Technology died after their Kia collided with a parked goods lorry in Thrissur, Kerala.
The crash occurred around 11:40 p.m. on Friday, September 4, near Panambikkunnu Centre in Kaipamangalam.
Videos showed the students smiling, taking selfies and recording their journey shortly before the collision.
A preliminary investigation is examining alleged speeding, the lorry’s parking position and inadequate construction-zone safety measures.
The lorry driver was arrested and charged under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, while authorities ordered further safety inspections.
- Who
- Eight engineering students from PSNA College of Engineering and Technology in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, were killed; the goods-lorry driver, identified as 33-year-old Thukaram, was arrested.
- What
- A Kia car carrying the students crashed into the rear of a stationary goods lorry, killing all eight occupants.
- When
- At around 11:40 p.m. on Friday, September 4; the driver was arrested on Saturday afternoon.
- Where
- Near Panambikkunnu Centre in the Kaipamangalam area of Thrissur district, Kerala, on NH-66.
- Why
- Investigators are examining alleged speeding, the lorry’s position near a construction diversion, and inadequate reflectors, warning lights, signage and lighting.
Possible Driver-Related Factors
Possible Road-Safety Factors
Cause of the collision
Possible Driver-Related Factors
Preliminary findings cited alleged overspeeding by the students’ car, and CCTV reportedly showed it approaching at high speed.
Possible Road-Safety Factors
Investigators are examining whether the stationary lorry was parked in a closed lane or near a construction diversion without adequate safety warnings.
Construction-zone responsibility
Possible Driver-Related Factors
The high-speed approach is being treated as one factor under investigation, rather than a definitive conclusion.
Possible Road-Safety Factors
Authorities are questioning inadequate reflectors, warning lights, signage, lighting and incomplete diversion safety arrangements on the NH-66 construction stretch.
Scope of the inquiry
Possible Driver-Related Factors
The lorry driver was arrested after police said he initially fled the scene, and he faces a culpable-homicide charge.
Possible Road-Safety Factors
A special investigation team and a Motor Vehicles Department inspection are examining multiple causes, while Kerala authorities ordered a joint highway safety inspection.
- Victims
- Eight students, aged around 20 to 21, died.
- College
- PSNA College of Engineering and Technology, Dindigul.
- Car
- Tamil Nadu-registered Kia, TN 59 DW 8299.
- Goods lorry
- Maharashtra-registered lorry, MH 43 CE 3671.
- Crash location
- NH-66 near Panambikkunnu Centre, Kaipamangalam, Thrissur district.
- Investigation
- Police and the Motor Vehicles Department are examining speeding and highway-construction safety conditions.
- Legal action
- The lorry driver faces charges under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.