CHENNAI: A tipper lorry knocked down two motorists, killing them on the spot, at Sothupakkam signal near Red Hills after the driver lost control, on Monday morning.The deceased were identified as Chandrababu, 48, of Avadi and Johnson, 54, of Panchetti. The lorry driver whose identity could not be established also suffered grievous injuries in the accident . He has been admitted at Stanley Government Hospital. Johnson's son Sujith, who was riding pillion, escaped with minor injuries.The motorists reached the Sothupakkam signal at 6am and were awaiting for the signal to turn green when the driver of the lorry carrying gravel from Ponneri lost control and knocked the bikes before ramming another lorry waiting at the signal. Those waiting for bus ran for safety seeing the tipper lorry."The lorry was about to plough into a shop. However, it came to a halt after hitting another truck. Otherwise the damage could have been severe," said an investigating officer. Johnson was employed at a private security firm in Ambathur and was taking his son Sujith to a relative's house. While Chandrababu, a resident of T Nagar, was on his way to his workplace, police said.Passersby who witnessed the incident, alerted the police who came and sent the bodies for autopsy. Madhavaram traffic investigation police registered a case of causing death due to negligence, rash and negligent driving against the lorry driver and further investigations are on.Police said traffic was affected for about two and a half hours due to the incident.Preliminary investigations revealed that the lorry driver was not able to apply brakes. Police have seized the lorry.

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