A couple returning home to Karaya on their motorcycle from a function in the port area were killed after a trailer truck hit them near the Bascule bridge late on Tuesday, police said.

Imran Kamal, 38, and his wife Sabina Alam, 32, residents of Ahiri Pukur Road in Karaya, were wearing helmets when the accident occurred minutes past midnight.

“They were flung into the air on impact and run over by the trailer truck moving in the same direction as they landed on the road,” an officer of South Port police station said. “The trailer truck had fled by the time we reached the spot. Their helmets were intact.

They were declared dead at SSKM Hospital.

Initially, the bodies could not be identified though cops had found a mobile phone on them. “We could not unlock the phone. So, we were left with no option but to wait for someone to call on the phone. Their identities were established on Wednesday morning,” the officer said.

Eyewitnesses have told the cops it was a “large trailer truck” with at least 10 wheels. But the vehicle could not be identified till Wednesday evening because the area does not have CCTV cameras, the police said.

A case of rash and negligent driving and causing death by negligence have been started against an unknown vehicle, another officer of South Port police station said.

In the past one year, the number of road accidents involving two-wheelers has gone down from 457 in 2018 to 379 in 2019.

According to Lalbazar traffic department records, 82 two-wheeler riders were killed in accidents in 2018. The number dipped to 58 in 2019.

In 2019, though, most of those killed had worn helmets, the police said. Of the 58 dead, 38 were wearing helmets at the time of accident.

“It is always safe to wear a helmet while riding a two-wheeler. One does not have any control over other vehicles on the road. But that does not mean that he/she stops taking basic precautions,” a traffic police officer said.