In the second fatal accident involving a speeding SUV with an inebriated driver at the wheel, a 60-year-old man was killed and two were injured near Shanti Van here on Wednesday night.
The tyre marks on the road suggested that the vehicle dragged laterally for about 10 metres before hitting the rickshaws on which the three victims were sleeping.
The accident took place on a stretch of the Ring Road around 11-15 p.m. when one Satyaprakash was driving a Tata Safari towards Rajghat.
“At some distance from Ghata Masjid Road, the driver of the vehicle lost control and hit the central verge which led to the bursting of its front right tyre. That worsened the situation, and the high speed of the vehicle meant that the brakes took longer to bring the vehicle to a halt,” said a police officer.
The delay was enough for the vehicle to ram two rickshaws parked next to a pavement on the other side of the road. Three men sleeping on those cycle-rickshaws – identified as Munna, Jan Bahadur and Munna Tiwari – were injured. The SUV was also damaged and its windscreen shattered.
Following the accident, others sleeping near the accident site gathered at the spot and got hold of the two occupants of the SUV, including Satyaveer. When the police reached there, the errant driver was handed over to them.
Some eyewitnesses also described the speed of the SUV as “dangerously fast.”
The three injured persons were taken to LNJP Hospital where Munna was declared brought dead while Munna Tiwari, who had superficial injuries, was discharged after first-aid. Jan Bahadur sustained a fracture, said the police.
According to the police, Satyaveer’s medical report confirmed that he was inebriated.
Satyaveer works as a driver for Dr. Sonia Jindal, a resident of Rohini, on whose name the Tata Safari was registered. His co-passenger in the vehicle was Ms. Jindal’s son who, too, was drunk.
A case under sections 304-A (causing death by negligence), 279 (rash and negligent driving), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code was registered against Satyaveer at the Daryaganj police station. He was granted bail on Wednesday, said the police.
Only this past Sunday a similar incident had taken place near Nigambodh Ghat – less than 2 km from the Shanti Van accident site, where another SUV ran over 13 people killing one and injuring 12.
