A Jamshedpur teenager died on his birthday on Sunday near Dimna Chowk on NH-33 when an oil tanker hit his bike that he had been forced to brake before a large highway pothole.

Mango boy and Jamshedpur Workers' College commerce student Chandan Sharma, who celebrated turning 18 with family and friends, was flung off his bike when the oil tanker rammed into him around 9.45pm on Sunday.

Sustaining head injuries, the boy who wasn't wearing a helmet was declared brought dead at Tata Main Hospital (TMH) emergency around 10.15pm. His friend Ankit Kumar, a Kasidih boy of the same age, who sat pillion, sustained multiple fractures and is being treated at TMH where he is out of danger.

Chandan's uncle Anil Sharma said the mishap occurred when his nephew was coming back to his Sankosai home in Mango with six friends from Big Bazaar.

"He died barely 2km from home on his birthday," sobbed the uncle. "Barely hours before, we were all celebrating his birthday. Then, late in the evening, he and six of his friends went to Big Bazaar to buy birthday gifts for a friend's nephew. On their way back home, Chandan stopped his bike to avoid a big pothole. As soon as Chandan stopped the bike, an oil tanker coming from behind hit his bike, flinging him away."

Though the rest of the friends rushed Chandan and Ankit to TMH, it was too late for Chandan.

The driver and cleaner of the oil tanker fled after leaving behind the vehicle a little away from the mishap spot, police said. But, what upset Chandan's family and neighbours in Mango is the sorry state of the NH-33, especially 3km between Dimna Chowk and Pardih, where the boys were riding.

Supported by local BJP leaders, they held a protest late on Sunday night at TMH, holding National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) responsible for the lack of maintenance that created craters and potholes on the busy highway stretch that killed the birthday boy.

"Because of the pothole, Chandan had to apply brakes on NH-33 that led to his death," said Santosh Prasad, one of the six friends who had gone to Big Bazaar on Sunday night, told this reporter on Monday. "Can't believe my friend is gone."

On Monday, the agency engaged by NHAI to widen the road filled up potholes on the 3km stretch with stone chips, angering residents further. "Is this a joke? Stone chips lying on the highway will cause two-wheelers to skid and increase chances of mishaps," fumed Jitendra Sharma, a Mango resident who has his office on NH-33.

Contacted, NHAI project director (Jharkhand) D.K. Gupta told this paper that on his August 17 inspection visit of NH-33 widening project, he had asked the construction agency to repair potholes and cracks.

"If the fatality was caused due to potholes, it is very shocking. I will once again instruct the agency to repair the potholes in a sustainable manner," he said.