Toddler sleeping in parking lot crushed to death by car in Hyderabad

A video grab from the closed-circuit television camera (CCTV) showing the gory incident of the car running over the sleeping girl went viral.

A three-year-old girl was crushed to death when she was accidentally run over by a car in the parking area of an apartment complex at Hayathnagar on the outskirts of Hyderabad on Wednesday evening, the police said.

Police said the victim’s parents were taking part in the construction of a building adjacent to the apartment in Hyderabad and the mother brought the girl to the apartment and put her to sleep in the shade in the parking lot as it was hot outside. (HT Archives)

The girl, identified as Kodli Kavitha, was sleeping at a corner of the parking area of Balaji Arcade apartments at Lecturers’ Colony, when Hari Ramakrishna, owner of a sports-utility vehicle (SUV) drove it over her while attempting to park it. The girl died on the spot.

A video grab from the closed-circuit television camera (CCTV) showing the gory incident of the car running over the sleeping girl went viral on social media on Thursday.

Hayathnagar inspector of police H Venkateshwarlu said the victim’s parents K Raju and Kavitha, construction workers from Kalburgi of Karnataka, were taking part in the construction of a building adjacent to Balaji Arcade apartment. “As it was pretty hot outside, Kavitha brought her daughter to the apartment and put her to sleep in the shade in the parking lot,” he said.

After some time, Ramakrishna, who returned home, straightaway drove the vehicle to the allotted parking lot without noticing the girl sleeping at a corner. He ran the vehicle over the sleeping girl, crushing her to death instantaneously, the inspector said.

Kavitha, mother of two children, told reporters that she had put her daughter to sleep under the shade in the adjacent apartment because it was too hot outside due to summer.

“I told the family of the apartment’s watchman to take care of my daughter. In fact, I, myself, went into the apartment twice to see that there is no disturbance to my daughter. But the tragedy happened in a matter of seconds,” she said.

Kavitha said the car owner immediately shifted the girl to the hospital where she was declared dead.

Ramakrishna is an interior designer, and his wife works as a sub-inspector in the Prohibition and Excise department.

“We have registered a case under Section 304-A (causing death by negligence) against Ramakrishna and are investigating the case,” the inspector said.