Thrissur accident that killed 8 T.N. students: Forensic surgeon indicates possible alcohol use

Preliminary post-mortem findings have indicated that some of the eight engineering students from Tamil Nadu who died in the Kaipamangalam road accident in Thrissur, Keralam, may have consumed alcohol before the crash, according to the forensic surgeon who led the examinations.

Dr Hitesh Shankar, Head of the Forensic Medicine Department at Thrissur Medical College and the doctor who supervised the post-mortem examinations, said in a Facebook post that the preliminary assessment pointed to alcohol consumption by the students.

However, he cautioned that the presence of alcohol in the blood alone cannot be used to conclusively establish the cause of the accident.

“Alcohol consumption can affect a driver’s judgement, attention, reaction time, coordination and perception of speed and distance, significantly increasing the risk of an accident. However, the presence of alcohol in the blood alone does not establish that it was the cause of the crash,” he said.