Kolar: Four members of a family returning to Mysuru after visiting the Sri Venkateshwara Temple in Tirupati were killed when their Innova car crashed into a stone culvert near Duddakari village on the Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway in KGF taluk of Kolar district on Monday morning, police said.
The accident occurred around 7 am within the limits of Bethamangala police station.
The deceased were identified as Devendra, 44, his mother-in-law Sharada Bai, 70, and his children Diksha, 20, and Vishnu Sai, 12, all residents of Mysuru, police said.
Three other occupants of the car sustained injuries and were shifted to a hospital for treatment.
According to police, the two families of sisters had travelled to Tirupati for darshan. While one family was based in Bengaluru, the other lived in Mysuru. They completed the darshan at around 3 am on Monday and began their return journey in the early hours.
The accident occurred around four hours later when the car crashed into a stone culvert near Duddakari village. The impact was severe, and four occupants died at the spot, police said.
Police suspect that the driver, Vikas Rao, may have dozed off while driving, causing the vehicle to go out of control and crash into the culvert.
However, some reports quoted sources as saying that a dog suddenly came onto the road and the driver tried to avoid it, following which the vehicle veered off the road and hit the divider/culvert.
The accident has once again raised concerns over road safety on the Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway. More than a dozen accidents have reportedly occurred on the stretch between Kolathur near Hoskote and Bethamangala since the expressway was opened to traffic in March 2025, with around 25 people reportedly losing their lives.
Bethamangala police reached the spot, conducted an inspection and registered a case. Further investigation is underway.