A family of three — father, mother and child — were killed in a road accident at Charatala in Behrampore, on Wednesday.

Hasanur Rahaman, 30, his wife Sima Khatun, 23, and their four-year-old son, Rahat Sheikh, died around 11am on the Behrampore-Kandi state highway, when the family of three was en route to a hospital on a scooter.

Rahaman, who had a shop in Baroan, had suffered a head injury on Tuesday and had been asked to go in for a medical test.

Tragedy struck as their scooter collided with a stone-laden truck coming from Behrampore.

The impact of the collision caused Rahaman, Sima and Rahat to fall on the road, and the truck, unable to halt in time, ran them over. Rahaman was the only person to have a helmet on, but as the wheels ran over them, the three died on the spot.

"Yesterday (on Tuesday), my son suffered a head injury at work. The doctors recommended a CT scan, so he, along with his wife and son, was on his way to the Kandi hospital when the accident occurred," Rahaman's inconsolable mother said.

Witnesses gave conflicting accounts.

Some claimed Rahaman's scooter suddenly appeared in the path of the truck, others claimed that the truck driver might have been unmindful.

Police are probing the events leading to the tragedy.

The police have seized the truck.

"There was an accident in which three persons died. The police have seized the truck but the driver has managed to flee. The police are investigating the matter," district police chief Surya Kumar Yadav said.