A husband and wife were killed after being struck by an unidentified vehicle while walking along the Dhaka–Chattogram Highway in Daudkandi, Cumilla, on Tuesday morning. The accident occurred at around 7am near Haripur Mosque in the upazila, after which the vehicle fled the scene.
The deceased were identified as Nazrul Islam, 62, son of the late Khalilur Rahman, and his wife, Jharna Begum, 48. They were residents of Jinglatali village in Daudkandi.
According to local residents and eyewitnesses, the couple had left home for their morning walk and were walking along one side of the highway when an unidentified vehicle hit them. The impact left both of them critically injured.
Local people rushed to their aid and took them to Gouripur Hospital, the upazila health complex. However, the attending doctors declared both of them dead upon arrival.
The deaths have cast a pall of grief over the local community, particularly as the couple were walking together when the fatal accident occurred.
Daudkandi Highway Police Station Officer-in-Charge Prem Lal Das confirmed the deaths. He said the couple had been struck by an unidentified vehicle and that police would examine footage from closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed along the highway to identify the vehicle involved.
The identity of the vehicle and its driver, as well as the precise circumstances leading to the collision, remain unknown. Investigators hope that CCTV footage will help establish the vehicle’s movements and provide clues about how the accident occurred. The exact cause of the crash has yet to be determined.
The Dhaka–Chattogram Highway is one of Bangladesh’s major transport routes, carrying large numbers of passenger buses, freight trucks and private vehicles every day. Heavy traffic can pose significant risks to pedestrians, particularly in areas where safe walking facilities are limited.
The incident has once again drawn attention to the importance of pedestrian safety along busy highways. Careful driving, compliance with speed limits and adequate safety measures for pedestrians are essential to reducing the risk of such accidents.
Identifying the vehicle involved and establishing the circumstances of the collision will be key priorities for the police as they investigate the deaths. For the victims’ family, the loss of both loved ones in a single incident represents an immeasurable tragedy.
