Drag racing and drunken driving at the dawn of the New Year have claimed the lives of four people in two road accidents. One of those killed was a sub-inspector on night patrol.
Eight other persons have been injured in accidents and have been shifted to hospitals.
Three persons were killed and seven are injured in a serial accident between two cars and a motorcycle near Kogilu junction on Bellary Road around 1.15 a.m.
The deceased have been identified as Chikkajala traffic police sub-inspector Lakshminarasimhaiah (55), a MBA student Hemanth Gowda (23) and his friend Suryanarayana (34), a realtor and a native of Kunigal.
Lakshminarasimhaiah was a native of Gudemarahanahalli in Magadi taluk and was residing in MES Layout near Peenya second stage. He was on duty when the accident occurred. Other two were residents of Sahakaranagar. Hemanth Gowda was the son of Devanahalli traffic police inspector Kanaka Kumar.
According to a senior police officer, Hemanth Gowda, Suryanarayana and two others had been to Devanahalli for a jolly ride. They were all in a drunken state. While they were returning to the city, another car, overtook their car near Devanahalli.
“The driver of Hemanth Gowda’s car chased that vehicle for a few kilometers and succeeded in overtaking it till Kogilu junction, where the accident occurred," the officer told The Hindu .
The ill-fated sub-inspector was on night patrolling and he was on his ‘cheetah’ motorcycle near the junction. The speeding car, in which Hemanth Gowda and other were coming, rammed into the motorcycle. The impact was such that the sub-inspector flung into the air for about 15 feet and fell at a distance of about 30 feet, the officer, based on the statements of the injured, said.
After hitting the motorcycle, the car rammed an electric pole, the fortification of the road and an advertisement board before hitting another car which was overtaking it.
All the three died on the spot due to the impact of the accident. All the three bodies bore injuries on head, neck, chest and legs.
It is not known who was driving the vehicle.
Five persons, all pre-university students, were in the other car which was involved in the drag racing. The identity of the injured is yet to be established. The Yelahanka traffic police are investigating the case.
In another incident, Arunkumar (20) of Shanthinagar died on the spot after his two wheeler accidentally hit the road median on Old Airport Road in the Ulsoor traffic police station limits here around 2 a.m.
The victim, an employee of a gas agency, was riding his motorcycle in an inebriated condition. The pillion rider, his friend, sustained severe injuries and was shifted to a private hospital. His identity is yet to be ascertained, said an officer of the Ulsoor traffic police station.
