An elderly woman died and two others, including a pregnant woman, were critically injured when a speeding truck hit them on Kalna Ghat road in Nadia’s Santipur on Sunday morning.

The incident occurred when the three women were out on a morning walk. As the news of the accident spread, hundreds of residents blocked the Santipur–Kalna Ghat Road for nearly five hours, demanding the arrest of the truck driver and action against all the speeding drivers on this stretch of the road.

Police and local sources said that around 6am on Sunday, a Kalna Ghat-bound truck broke its lane in a bid to overtake another vehicle and mowed down Saraswati Sardar, 50, Sudipa Mondal, 23, and Harani Mondal, 45.

The elderly Saraswati, who worked at an agriculture farm, died on the spot. The pregnant Sudipa and her relative Harani were both critically injured.

Bystanders rushed all the three women to Santipur state general hospital. There, Saraswati was declared brought dead.

Sudipa and Harani were immediately transferred to the Nadia district hospital in Krishnagar. Local residents alleged that some drivers frequently indulge in reckless speeding on this stretch.

“We feel scared to walk on this road as the buses and truck often jump lanes to overtake other vehicles and almost always drive at high speed. There is no mechanism by police or the district administration to control these errant drivers, who have literally been playing with our lives,” said Dipu Mondal, a resident who joined the roadblock on Sunday morning around 6.30am.

A large number of women also joined the roadblock and accused local police authorities of a nexus with truck drivers.

“The desperation of these drivers can be understood from the fact that on Sunday the three women, despite walking on one side of the road, fell victim. to a speeding truck.... The driver, in a bid to overtake another vehicle, lost control of his truck and came close to the edge of the other lane and hit the women. It is a horrible situation,” said Sunil Sarkar, another resident who also joined the roadblock.

The roadblock cleared after five hours around 11am when senior police officers went to the spot and assured the local residents that action against the errant drivers as well as this particular driver would be taken.

“We are trying to identify driver through CCTV camera footage and will deploy police personnel and civic volunteers to control the errant drivers,” a police officer said.