Four youths, including a well-known tattoo artist, were killed when their car rammed into a stationary truck on the Kullu-Manali National Highway near the Bhootnath bridge around 1 am on Thursday.
The police said that five friends were returning to Kullu after celebrating New Year and a birthday in Kasol when the accident occurred. One youth had stepped out of the vehicle before it met with fatal accident.
Preliminary investigation suggests that the car hit a roadside parapet and then crashed into the parked truck. Three youths died on the spot while a critically injured young woman was taken to the Regional Hospital in Kullu and from there she was referred to AIIMS-Bilaspur but she died on way to the hospital, raising the toll to four.
The deceased were identified as Satpal (25), son of Dhyan Chand and resident of Chamunda Nagar, Dhalpur; Ankita (20), daughter of Rakesh Kumar of Tandi village in Lahaul-Spiti; Kashish (20), daughter of Tej Ram of Jallugran in Jari sub-tehsil, Parbati valley; and Ratanjali (20), daughter of Yudhishthir Lal of Sachani village in Bhuntar subdivision.
Satpal, who was driving the car, ran a tattoo studio at Akhara Bazaar. The group had gone to Kasol to celebrate his birthday along with New Year festivities, police said.
The police have registered a case and are probing the cause of the mishap. Overspeeding and loss of control are suspected. Officials said statements of eyewitnesses are being recorded and the manner in which the truck was parked is also under examination. Post-mortem of the bodies was conducted at the Kullu hospital and the bodies handed over to the families.