PONDA: A woman and her three-year-old nephew were crushed under a heavy-duty crane at Kone in Priol on Thursday. Tension spread in the area as irate locals stopped police from moving the vehicle and demanded that the absconding driver be produced before them. As a result, the Goa-Karnataka national highway was blocked for over four hours.Traffic had to be diverted through the Goa Engineering College road and the Mardol-Priol-Farmagudi road. It was only after local MLA and art and culture minister Govind Gaude intervened and pacified the agitated crowd that traffic was released around 8pm.Police sources said that, around 3pm, the child suddenly ran towards the highway seeing which his paternal aunt Sangeeta Gaude, 38, resident of Sanguem-Apevhal in Priol, ran behind him to stop him. However, both came under the wheels of the crane and were crushed to death, police said. Sangeeta’s family runs a temporary kiosk along the highway.The crane driver fled leaving the vehicle on the spot, police said.News of the accident spread and locals rushed to the spot. Aggrieved by the tragedy, they attacked the crane and blocked the highway. Sources said Ponda police had to summon an additional team from the nearest police station to control the situation.“Though the accident was sudden, eruption of villagers’ feelings was natural as two were killed tragically. I asked the investigation officers to examine the authenticity of the vehicle before allowing it to be shifted,” Gaude said.After the situation was brought under control, police sent the bodies to Goa Medical College for autopsy, which is likely to be conducted on Friday.Ponda police have registered an accident case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Stay updated with all the Latest Goa headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.