Bengaluru: A service mechanic who was asleep in a container near Tin Factory on Old Madras Road was killed when a sand-laden lorry rammed into it and slid into a pit that had been dug up for metro work at the upcoming Jyothipura station, on Saturday.

The police have identified the victim as Sonu Singh Saini, 32, who was from Delhi, worked as a contract employee with ITD Cementation India JV, a construction company associated with BMRCL. The lorry driver, Ramanjaneya, who sustained injuries in the accident, was coming into the city with a sand load from Hoskote.

He lost control of the vehicle while manoeuvring it and rammed into the barricades before knocking down the container, at 6.30 a.m. According to the police, the driver had dozed off at the wheel. The lorry then fell into a pit, killing Sonu on the spot and injuring a few other workers who were asleep at the site.

Other workers extricated the deceased from the container using cutters. The K.R. Puram police have taken up a case of death due to negligence against the driver.

Traffic movement was disrupted for over an hour until the police summoned a crane to pull out the lorry and the container from the pit.

The construction company, has filed a police complaint against the driver. The company will also compensate the family of the deceased, a statement by the BMRCL said.