In another fatal incident involving a heavy vehicle, a dumper of the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board carrying garbage struck and killed a motorcycle rider in the Nagan area of Karachi on Monday, according to police.
New Karachi Station House Officer (SHO) Mohammed Saud said the deceased, Hameedur Rehman, was riding a motorcycle under the Nagan bridge when the dumper crushed him to death.
People gathered at the spot where the incident occurred, caught the dumper driver, Allah Rakha, and beat him until the police arrived. The police then took the accused into custody.
The body was shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for legal formalities.
The spot did not have closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to capture the incident, the SHO said and added that the incident occurred around 11:30 am.
Eyewitnesses, present at the scene, informed the police that the motorcyclist was driving on the wrong side of the road.
Rise in heavy vehicle accidents
In recent months, Karachi has witnessed a rise in traffic accidents, especially involving heavy vehicles such as dumpers and water tankers. Nearly 500 people lost their lives and 4,879 were injured in 2024 in road accidents resulting from various reasons, from reckless driving to construction activities, hospital data showed.
On November 4, angered citizens set a dumper truck on fire in Karachi after it killed a man and injured his wife, resulting in some people opening fire on them.
On October 12, a reckless dumper driver smashed into six vehicles, including three ambulances of the Edhi Foundation, near Merewether Clock Tower, killing a man and injuring two others. The driver, who possessed a “fake” licence, was arrested.
On August 10, two siblings were killed and their father was injured when a dumper truck ran over them on Karachi’s Rashid Minhas Road near Lucky One Mall. A mob then set seven trucks on fire, which sparked protests from transporters.
August 15 recorded two accidents involving heavy vehicles, including one where a speeding water tanker ran over and killed a four-year-old boy in Orangi Town.
In another accident, a young couple lost their lives when a fast-moving dumper truck hit their motorcycle in the Sultanabad area on M.T. Khan Road.
