Overview
- Driver Rajesh from Pallippad was killed at Chandiroor around 2:30 a.m. when two precast girders fell during work on the Aroor–Thuravoor elevated corridor.
- Police and officials cited a hydraulic jack malfunction or skid during positioning, which caused a concrete beam to drop onto his pickup transporting eggs.
- Emergency crews and locals took more than three hours to cut through the roughly 8,000‑kg structure and remove him, and he was declared dead after extrication.
- Aroor police registered a culpable-homicide case, the district collector sought a report from the contractor, the PWD minister ordered an inquiry, and NHAI set up an expert committee.
- Traffic remains diverted on the NH‑66 stretch as residents allege poor barricading and absent marshals, the contractor denies negligence citing sudden equipment failure, and the firm agreed to pay Rs 25 lakh to the family.