Five dead in devastating collision between SUV and tractor-trolley near Gwalior

Five young men were killed after a speeding Fortuner SUV crashed into a sand-laden tractor-trolley on the Gwalior–Jhansi Highway in Madhya Pradesh late Saturday, police said on Sunday.

The high-impact collision occurred near Malwa College, about 20 kilometres from the Gwalior district headquarters, leaving the vehicle mangled beyond recognition and all occupants dead on the spot.

Gwalior Superintendent of Police Nagendra Singh Sikarwar said that the SUV rammed into the tractor-trolley from behind with such force that the bodies of the deceased were trapped between the crushed front portion of the SUV and the trolley.

“A cutter had to be used to retrieve the bodies,” Sikarwar said, describing the devastation at the accident site.

The SUV belongs to Gwalior-based property dealer Umesh Rajawat, and was being driven by his son, Prince Rajawat, when the accident took place. The four other victims have been identified as Kaushal Bhadoria, Aditya Pratap Singh Jadon, Abhimanyu Singh, and Shivam Rajpurohit—all residents of Gwalior and all in their early 20s.

Police said the group was returning to Gwalior from Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, when the crash occurred.

Preliminary investigation points to speeding as a key factor in the collision, though officers said the exact cause would be established after further inquiry and examination of forensic reports.

A police team reached the spot soon after receiving information from passers-by who witnessed the severely damaged vehicles blocking the highway.

Officers began a preliminary investigation and arranged to send the bodies for post-mortem at a nearby hospital.

Heavy equipment was brought in to remove both the crushed SUV and the sand-loaded trolley to restore traffic flow on the busy interstate route.

The tractor driver fled the scene immediately after the accident and remains at large, police said.

Efforts are underway to identify and trace him, including verifying ownership details of the tractor-trolley and questioning nearby residents and eyewitnesses.

The sudden deaths of five young men have sent shockwaves through Gwalior, where all of them were well-known among their local communities.

As investigations continue, the police are also examining whether the tractor-trolley was parked, moving slowly, or improperly lit at the time of the crash—factors that often contribute to fatal night-time rear-end collisions on highways.