A tragic road accident on the Dhaka-Bhanga Expressway has claimed the lives of two teenage friends in Faridpur’s Bhanga Upazila.

The incident took place on Thursday morning beneath an underpass within the Bhanga Interchange area. The victims were seventeen-year-old Kawsar Ahmed Ratul, who was driving the motorcycle and whose father, Shahadat Sardar, is an expatriate living abroad, and his eighteen-year-old friend, Raju Matubber. Ratul hailed from Jandi village in the Tuzarpur Union, while Matubber belonged to Phukurhati village in the Nurullaganj Union.

According to local accounts and police reports, the two friends were riding their motorcycle through the interchange underpass when a passenger bus travelling from Dhaka toward Faridpur struck them. The impact was severe enough to twist the motorcycle into a mangled wreck and throw both riders onto the asphalt with life-threatening injuries. Following the collision, the driver of the bus fled the scene.

Emergency responders from the Bhanga Highway Police Station arrived promptly after receiving reports of the crash. They rushed the injured youths to the local Bhanga hospital for urgent medical attention. Due to the critical nature of their trauma, medical personnel advised an immediate transfer to a specialised hospital in Dhaka. Sadly, both teenagers succumbed to their injuries while being transported to the capital.

Sub-Inspector Sohel of the Bhanga Highway Police Station confirmed that authorities prepared formal inquest reports before releasing the bodies to the grieving families. Police personnel are actively working to track down the implicated bus and identify the driver responsible for leaving the scene. The sudden loss of the two young friends has cast a pall of deep sorrow over their families and the surrounding community.

Transport analysts note that the Dhaka-Bhanga Expressway serves as a vital arterial route featuring high-speed limits. Because large commercial vehicles travel at elevated speeds, safety advocates consistently urge operators of smaller vehicles, such as motorcycles, to exercise extreme caution at junctions, interchanges, and underpasses. Maintaining safe distances and adhering strictly to traffic regulations remain critical for preventing such highway tragedies as investigators continue probing the exact circumstances surrounding the crash.

What steps can local transport authorities take to enhance safety for vulnerable motorists at high-speed highway interchanges?