Mangaluru: One person died while eight others, including a journalist, were grievously injured after their SUV rammed into a parked heavy-duty vehicle. The accident took place on the intervening night between Wednesday and Thursday on National Highway-66 at Panambur.

Police have identified the deceased as Hanumanthayya, who was the driver of the SUV. The injured were rushed to a private hospital. While four of the injured are in the ICU, one of them is said to be in an extremely critical condition.

The rest of the three are in a relatively better position, police said. It is suspected that the driver of the SUV dozed off on the wheel, and ended up ramming the car into a heavy-duty vehicle.

Sources said journalist V C Hiremath, who is working for a Kannada daily, three women from his family and four children were travelling in the SUV. They were on the way to Guruvayur, a pilgrimage centre in Kerala, from Lakshmeshwara in Shirahatti taluk in Gadag. The accident took place around 1.30 am, a police officer said.

The impact of the collision was such, that the front of the vehicle was completely crushed.

A case has been filed at the Mangaluru North traffic police station.