Sunday’s road accident in the uptown neighbourhood of Jubilee Hills during the wee hours brought back memories of another fatal collision that resulted in the death of three members of a family, including a nine-year-old girl, Ramya.
Over a year since the accident, the accused, whose vehicle overturned on the car in which Ramya’s family was travelling, is awaiting trial in the courts of law. He was allegedly drunk and did not possess a driving licence.
Speaking to The Hindu , Banjara Hills police said a chargesheet has been filed and the trial is likely to begin in March or April.
“The accused, Shravil (20), was not granted bail for 90 days. This is the maximum period that one can be taken into judicial custody,” a police officer, who did not wish to be identified, said, adding that it was a rare case as any accused in a road accident gets bail in less than 20 days.
On July 1, 2016, Ramya was returning home after attending the first day at her new school when the accident took place on Road No. 3 in Banjara Hills.
Her uncle, Rajesh (35), who was behind the wheels, died on the spot while Ramya remained comatose for nine days before succumbing to grievous injuries.
Her 68-year-old grandfather, Madhusudhan Chary, died 17-days after the accident.
In another case of death due to drunk driving on April 14 last year, a municipality truck driver Pandavaiah crushed four of a family near the RTA office in Trimulgherry.
Pandaviah’s truck dragged a two-wheeler for over three metres.
Death was instant for Shaik Azhar (37), his son, Shaik Aman (9), and daughters, Ashfiya Sultana (7) and Haleema (3).
Azhar’s wife Imrana Begum (28) and daughter Atiya (6) suffered multiple fractures.
“Since there is high risk of fatality due to head injury, helmet use can increase survival chance by 60%,” said Srinivas Puppala, a district transport officer of Medchal who also works in the field of road safety.
On December 3, 2017, engineering student M. Jatin Varma (21) died and his three friends were severely injuries when their car was rammed on Road No. 45, Jubilee Hills by an SUV driven by another off their riend K. Karthik, who was allegedly drunk.
On Saturday, around 250 cases of drunk driving were reported from various parts of the city during checks, said police.
