A tragic road accident on the Lucknow-Kanpur National Highway in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district claimed the life of an e-rickshaw driver on Friday afternoon. A container truck hit the e-rickshaw from behind, crushing the driver under its wheels. The man died on the spot. The entire incident was captured on a CCTV camera installed near the highway. The video has now surfaced and is being widely shared, triggering shock, anger and debate over road safety, speeding, and responsibility on busy highways.

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The accident took place in the Ajgain police station area, near Chamaroli turn, a known crossing point on the highway. According to eyewitnesses, the container truck was coming from the Lucknow side at a high speed. As it reached Chamaroli turn, it suddenly hit an e-rickshaw that was crossing the highway.

The impact was extremely strong. The e-rickshaw lost balance and overturned on the road. The driver fell directly under the container truck. The truck driver could not stop the heavy vehicle in time and ran over the man, crushing him beneath the wheels.

The truck continued moving forward for some distance before stopping. The e-rickshaw driver died instantly at the scene.

CCTV footage captures the full incident

The entire accident was recorded by a CCTV camera installed near the spot. The footage clearly shows the e-rickshaw moving onto the highway and the container truck hitting it moments later.

The viral video shows how quickly the situation unfolded and how little time there was for anyone to react. After the collision, the e-rickshaw is seen toppling, and the driver is dragged under the truck.

After the video surfaced, many people raised concerns about highway safety, speed of heavy vehicles, and the lack of proper traffic control at crossings like Chamaroli turn.

Victim identified as Dashrath Lodha

The deceased has been identified as Dashrath Lodha, aged 45, according to a report by Dainik Bhaskar. He was a resident of Aishbagh, Bazaar Khala area, under Aishbagh police station in Lucknow.

Dashrath had come to Baba Kheda village in Chamaroli (Ajgain) to attend a family function at his in-laws' home. According to Dashrath’s family, he had arrived in Baba Kheda to attend his granddaughter's birthday celebration, the Dainik Bhaskar report added.

After the programme ended, he was returning to Lucknow. He was using the same e-rickshaw to cross the highway when the accident occurred. The accident site was around 8 kilometres away from his in-laws' house.

His brother-in-law Raj Bahadur said Dashrath was on his way back home when the container hit the e-rickshaw, leading to his death.

Family details and distance travelled

Dashrath is survived by two sons Shubham (23) and Shivam (18) and a daughter Saloni (21). The family said he had travelled nearly 40 kilometres to attend the birthday celebration and never expected such a tragic end.

When news of his death reached the family, there was chaos and deep grief. Family members rushed to the Ajgain police station later in the evening.

Chaos at the accident site

Soon after the accident, panic spread at the spot. A large crowd gathered on the highway. Traffic came to a halt for some time due to the overturned e-rickshaw and the container truck blocking the road.

Local people informed the Ajgain police, who reached the spot shortly after. Police removed the damaged vehicles from the road and cleared traffic.

Truck driver caught by locals

Eyewitnesses said that after the accident, the truck driver tried to move ahead. However, local youths chased and caught him. Police later took the driver into custody for questioning. The container truck has been seized.

Police sent Dashrath's body for post-mortem examination, which will be conducted on Saturday. According to the police, initial investigation suggests that overspeeding and negligence may have caused the accident. Police are also checking other CCTV cameras installed nearby to understand the sequence of events in more detail.

Further legal action will be taken after the post-mortem report and full investigation.

Video sparks strong reactions on social media

After the CCTV video appeared online, it was widely shared, including on Reddit, where users reacted strongly. Many comments blamed the e-rickshaw driver, saying he should not have entered the highway in front of a heavy vehicle. Some users argued that the container driver had little chance to stop such a heavy truck suddenly.

Others pointed out the lack of traffic signals or traffic police at such a busy highway crossing. A few users appealed for basic human respect, reminding others that a man had lost his life and that mocking or celebrating the death was wrong.