4 killed in Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway crash while returning from Tirupati

A trip to Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh ended in tragedy for two families in Karnataka after four people were killed and three others injured when their Innova crashed into a stone culvert near Doddakari village in Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) on Monday morning.

The police identified the dead as Devendra, 44, his mother-in-law Sharadha Bai, 70, and Devendra's children, Deeksha, 20, and Vishnu Sai, 12— all residents of Mysuru. The injured victims have been hospitalised. According to the police, families of two sisters—one based in Bengaluru and the other in Mysuru—set out for Tirumala for darshan around 3 am and were returning home when the accident occurred around 7 am.

Since the Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway opened to traffic in March 2025, the section between Kolathur near Hoskote and Bethamangala has recorded over a dozen accidents and nearly 25 deaths. In another incident, three women labourers were killed in Chikkaballapur district after an Omni van and a mini-goods vehicle collided near Kothanur Gate in Shidlaghatta taluk around 2.30 am, according to the police.

The women are Roopa, 30, Rathnamma, 45, and Munichinnamma, 40—all residents of Mallikarjunapura The victims were heading for harvesting flowers near Huzuguru village. A police officer said, "The women were travelling in the Omni van which was driven by one Ramachandrappa.

The van collided with a mini goods vehicle, and they died on the spot. There were about 10 daily-wage labourers. The injured were shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment." The police suspect that the driver of either the goods vehicle or the Omni van may have dozed off, leading to the collision.

They have registered a case.