Five people, including two children, were killed and eight others injured after a sleeper bus travelling from Haryana to Bihar rammed into a car and overturned off the Agra-Lucknow Expressway in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district in the early hours of Wednesday. Police said preliminary investigations suggest the bus driver may have briefly fallen asleep at the wheel, though other possible causes are also being examined.Representational image.Police identified the deceased as Dhunmun (60), Anju (40), Vinod (45), and two children, Divya (6) and Amrita (13). All five died on the spot.The accident occurred around 4.30am in Bangarmau, about 65km from the district headquarters. According to police, the speeding sleeper bus, operated by Baba Traveller and travelling from Jhajjar in Haryana to Nalanda in Bihar, hit an Ertiga car from behind while both vehicles were moving towards Lucknow.The impact left the car mangled and dragged it for nearly 20 feet before the bus broke through the roadside crash barrier, plunged off the expressway and overturned in a roadside ditch. Eyewitnesses alerted the police, following which rescue teams rushed to the spot and shifted the injured to hospital.Bangarmau circle officer Harsh Modi said the bus was carrying around 70 passengers, while nine people were travelling in the car. Four occupants of the car and four passengers on the bus sustained injuries. Those with serious injuries were referred to the district hospital for specialised treatment.“Preliminary investigation suggests that the driver may have briefly fallen asleep while driving. However, all possible angles are being examined,” police said.