A devastating road traffic collision on the Bhairab-Kishoreganj regional highway in Kishoreganj’s Katiadi upazila has claimed the lives of three individuals, including a father and his young daughter, while leaving five others injured.

The incident unfolded on Sunday afternoon within the Tebhaga area under Achmita union. According to local eyewitness accounts and the local constabulary, a compressed natural gas-powered auto-rickshaw carrying seven occupants, including the driver, was travelling from Kishoreganj towards Katiadi at around two o’clock. As the vehicle attempted to overtake a covered van ahead of it, it collided head-on with an oncoming pickup truck coming from the opposite direction.

The impact sent the auto-rickshaw hurtling towards the side of the road, where it overturned and was reduced to a mangled heap of metal. Milan Miah, aged thirty, and his five-year-old daughter, Zara Moni, both hailing from Tarail upazila, succumbed to their injuries at the scene. Rabeya Begum, forty, from Ajmiriganj upazila in Habiganj, was rushed in a critical condition to the Katiadi Upazila Health Complex, where the attending medical officer pronounced her dead upon arrival.

The remaining casualties were initially admitted to the Katiadi Upazila Health Complex before being transferred to the Kishoreganj 250-Bed General Hospital for advanced medical intervention. Anisur Rahman, an assistant surgeon at the Katiadi health facility, noted that the injured passengers had sustained severe head trauma during the impact.

Sub-Inspector Nabi Nur of the Katiadi Highway Police confirmed the fatalities. Speaking about the preliminary investigation, he stated that the auto-rickshaw attempted an ill-fated overtaking manoeuvre before colliding with the pickup truck. Authorities have successfully seized the offending pickup truck, though the driver managed to flee the scene and remains at large as a manhunt continues.

Road safety advocates have long expressed concern over the high volume of mixed traffic, including slow-moving human haulers and auto-rickshaws sharing regional highways with heavy commercial lorries across rural Bangladesh. High speeds, hazardous overtaking on two-lane corridors, and a lack of strict regulatory enforcement frequently contribute to severe highway casualties. Local law enforcement officials have reiterated their appeal for heightened caution among motorists navigating regional transit routes, as investigations into the precise sequence of events leading to Sunday’s tragedy proceed.