An assistant judge was killed and a private car driver seriously injured after their vehicle crashed into the rear of a stationary, rod-laden lorry on the Jamalpur–Mymensingh highway early Monday.
The deceased was identified as A.K.M. Samiul Haque, 27, who was serving as an assistant judge at the Jamalpur District and Sessions Judge’s Court. He died at the scene after several long steel rods loaded on the lorry penetrated the front of the car during the collision.
The accident occurred in the Lahirikanda Bazar area of Jamalpur Sadar upazila in the early hours of Monday. According to police and local sources, Samiul had left his residence in Lalmatia, Dhaka, late on Sunday night in a private car bound for Jamalpur.
As the car reached the Lahirikanda Bazar area before dawn, it collided at high speed with a lorry carrying steel rods that had broken down and was parked beside the highway. The force of the impact caused the front section of the private car to crumple severely. Several rods reportedly broke through the vehicle’s front and entered the passenger compartment.
One of the rods struck Samiul, causing fatal injuries. He died at the scene before he could be taken to hospital.
The car’s driver, Md Idris Ali, 46, was also seriously injured in the crash. He is the son of Danesh Hawladar of Dhaka’s Dhanmondi area. Local residents and police rescued him from the damaged vehicle and took him to Jamalpur General Hospital, where he is receiving treatment.
Nazmus Sakib, officer-in-charge of Jamalpur Sadar Police Station, said the lorry had been standing beside the highway after becoming disabled. The private car crashed into its rear as it approached the spot in the early morning.
Police, quoting the injured driver, said he did not initially notice the stationary lorry. By the time he saw it, the car was already too close for him to stop or manoeuvre safely, resulting in the collision.
Samiul was the son of A.K.M. Fazlul Haque, a former secretary from the Satpai area of Netrakona Sadar upazila. His death at the age of 27, at the beginning of his professional career, has left relatives and colleagues deeply shocked.
The incident also highlights the dangers posed by disabled heavy vehicles left beside major highways, particularly during the night and early morning when visibility is reduced. Without adequate warning lights, reflective markings or other visible safety measures, stationary lorries can become difficult for approaching motorists to identify in sufficient time.
Police said Samiul’s body was handed over to his family without a post-mortem examination following a request from his relatives. Traffic movement on the highway was disrupted for a short period after the crash but later returned to normal.
