An 18-year-old girl from Murshidabad’s Samserganj, who excelled in this year’s higher secondary examination despite undergoing treatment for cancer for nearly seven months, was killed in a road accident early on Thursday on her way back home from Tata Medical Center in Calcutta.

Nabima Tabassum, 18, was killed instantly when the SUV she was in rear-ended a stationary lorry on NH12 near Chaksapur village around 4am on Thursday, said a source. Her father Shahidul Islam, 50, succumbed to his injuries a little later while on his way to a hospital in an eyewitness’s private vehicle.

Her mother Nasima Biwi, siblings Asif and Noorain, who were in the SUV, and the vehicle’s driver are admitted to Murshidabad Medical College in Behrampore in a critical condition.

It has been learnt that Nabima and her family went to Calcutta on Wednesday for her treatment at the cancer hospital. “They decided to drive back the same night because of the statewide lockdown on Thursday and Friday,” said a source.

About seven months ago, she was diagnosed with a cancerous growth above her ear, which was in remission the past couple of months after treatment. This March, Nabima had passed her HS exam in the science stream getting 90 per cent marks. She had been studying for medical joint entrance exams scheduled for September this year.

“There was traffic on the part of the road where the mishap occurred, and eyewitnesses slowed down to help the injured,” the source said.