Three persons were killed on the spot and six others injured after their speeding SUV rammed into an electric pole on National Highway-75 at Gudemaranahalli near Kudur in Ramanagaram district on Wednesday night.
Kishan (27), Akshay (29) and Monappa (43) are the deceased. The injured, all from Mangaluru, were shifted to the Victoria Hospital.
A senior police officer said they were returning to their hometown after visiting Tirupati.
The accident occurred around midnight and went unnoticed as it was dark. Later, some passing vehicles spotted the car around 1 am, found the injured in an unconscious state and rushed them to the hospital.
The three were declared brought dead at the hospital.
The Kudur police suspect that the driver, Chandrashekar, was driving at a high speed, lost control on the vehicle and rammed into the median. And later the car hit the electric pole.
The police said the victims had also visited Sabarimala as they were found wearing Aiyappa maala.
The driver has been booked for driving recklessly.