An autorickshaw driver was killed and eight others were injured when a Porsche driven at high speed by a student, Vikash Anand, rammed into vehicles parked alongside Cathedral Road early on Monday.
The drivers were sleeping in their autorickshaws when the accident occurred around 3.30 a.m.
At the time of the crash, Anand (22), who is a professional racer, was reportedly behind the wheel with his friend and car dealer Charankumar (38) in the passenger seat of the two-seater luxury car. They were returning from a party hosted at a private residence in Poes Garden to celebrate the victory of Vikash’s brother’s team in the finals of the TNPL cricket tournament.
The car, which was proceeding at high speed towards Kamarajar Salai, hit the central median opposite Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospital. In the impact, the vehicle veered to the left and rammed into the row of autorickshaws, the police said.
Traffic police personnel rushed to the rescue and the injured drivers were taken to the Government Royapettah Hospital.
Two of the more severely injured drivers were later referred to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH). G. Arumugam (22), who suffered severe head injuries, died at 6 a.m., a senior doctor at the hospital said.
The other drivers were treated as outpatients at Government Royapettah Hospital.
G. Vinayagam, Arumugam’s brother, wept inconsolably and said his brother’s two children had been orphaned now; they had lost their mother three months ago.
N. Yuvaraj, another victim said, “We were fast asleep and woke up to the screech of the brake being applied suddenly. The car rammed into all our autorickshaws and two of our colleagues were trapped between the mangled vehicles.”
Mr. Anand and Mr. Charankumar were taken to a hospital to check the level of blood alcohol.
They were later interrogated at the Shastri Nagar Police Station following which the traffic police booked the duo for causing death by negligence and drunken driving.
They were produced before 18th Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Saidapet and remanded in judicial custody. Mr Anand, who is pursuing a law degree, is a national-level racing driver.
