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Kottayam: A 62-year-old grocery shop owner was killed when a speeding car hit him while he was walking along a footpath in Alappuzha in the early hours of Friday. The accident occurred at 5.45am at Kaithavana Swami Junction. Cash of Rs 4,000, two ATM cards and a PAN card kept in the scooter were also reportedly burnt.
The taxi was travelling from Changanassery towards Ernakulam, police said. The car that went out of control rammed a parked scooter, which was gutted in the resulting fire. Joshi, who runs a grocery shop near his house, stepped out of his house to buy milk for his shop and to go for a morning walk. Sandeep reached the spot on his scooter around the time of the accident. After hitting Joshi, the car rammed Sandeep’s scooter, which caught fire. It then crashed through the footpath railing and came to a halt after hitting a nearby divider. A fire force unit extinguished the blaze, but the scooter was completely destroyed.
He usually walks with his friend Sandeep, but as Sandeep was running late on Friday, Joshi had begun walking along the footpath alone.
Police said preliminary findings indicated that the driver had fallen asleep. Joshi and Sharath were rushed to General Hospital in an ambulance. Alappuzha South police registered a case and began an investigation. The taxi has been taken into custody.