Tragedy struck during the gridlock when a cardiac patient died inside an ambulance while being rushed to Dhaka for emergency medical treatment. The deceased, identified as Amirunnesa, was a resident of Pranbhagabatipur village in the Chandraganj upazila of Lakshmipur.

According to her relative, Tarek Al Hasan, Amirunnesa suffered a heart attack on Friday evening, prompting her family to arrange an ambulance to convey her to a specialized hospital in the capital around 8:00 pm. The vehicle reached Daudkandi in Comilla by 11:00 pm, only to run into the impassable wall of stationary traffic. After remaining trapped in the congestion for four hours without medical assistance, Amirunnesa passed away inside the vehicle at around 3:00 am.

Passengers travelling on long-distance routes expressed intense frustration over the lack of traffic management during peak hours. Travellers aboard a Mujahid Paribahan bus heading from Chittagong to Bagerhat reported being stuck at Iliotganj from 2:30 am. By 8:00 am, the vehicle had managed to cover merely 10 kilometres to reach Amirabad in Daudkandi.

Bus drivers operating along the corridor highlighted the vulnerability of the vital artery. Ripon Miah, a 55-year-old driver operating a Surma Paribahan bus from Dhaka to Hajiganj, stressed that authorities must maintain constant oversight during roadworks on such a critical highway. He noted that elderly passengers, women, and children were suffering severely in the stifling heat inside stranded vehicles.

Confirming the origin of the gridlock, Inspector Mohammad Shamim, in-charge of the Bhabanipur Highway Police Outpost in Gazaria, Munshiganj, stated that the congestion began following the commencement of road repair work at Ashriarchhar. Highway police personnel remain deployed along the affected stretches to assist stranded drivers and passengers while attempting to ease the flow of traffic slowly.