Dumper crushes college professor, wife

The couple was about to move into new house but death did not give them a chance

KARACHI:

A middle-aged professor and his wife were crushed to death by a speeding dumper near Jamali Bridge on Superhighway on Saturday.

The 54-year-old physics professor, Tariq Salahuddin Abdullah, and his wife, Nadia, were riding a motorcycle when the dumper plowed into them. They died on the spot. Their bodies were shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

Tariq Salahuddin Abdullah was a professor at Abdullah Government College for Women and lived in Scheme 33. He had recently bought a new house in Azizabad and was in the process of moving there. On the day of the accident, he had loaded household goods into a pickup and sent them ahead to the new address.

At the hospital, colleagues and friends of the deceased professor gathered to mourn. Among them was Principal Tasneem Fatima, who said that Prof Salahuddin was in the midst of settling into his new home when the fatal accident took place. The couple left behind two sons and a daughter to mourn their death.

The pickup driver, who had already reached the new house with the belongings, found that the couple had not arrived. He tried to contact them, but didn't receive any response. Subsequently he reported to the police.

Aurangzeb Khattak, SHO Sachal police station, said that the dumper driver fled the scene after the fatal crash. Police have since impounded the dumper and are searching for the driver.

Meanwhile, an elderly passerby died after being hit by an unknown hit-and-run vehicle near Al-Asif Square on Superhighway. His body was shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where he was identified as 70-year-old Rashid Ahmed. The police handed over the body of the deceased to the heirs after legal proceedings.