Speeding Beetle snuffs out woman’s life in Chandigarh’s Dhanas

Speeding car leaves six more injured before coming to a screeching halt on roadside; driver, who was also injured, flees

A speeding Volkswagen Beetle claimed the life of a roadside corn seller and left six more injured after its driver lost control over the vehicle in Dhanas on Wednesday evening.

The victims were present on the roadside when the car hit them, killing Rajwanti, 52 (inset). (Keshav Singh/HT)

According to police, the red Beetle (PB23-J-0001) first rammed into a motorcycle before hitting six people present on the roadside near the Dhanas Community Centre.

The out-of-control hatchback brought down the fencing wire installed on the road side before screeching to a halt on the adjacent vacant land. A motorcycle also got stuck under the mangled car. The impact of the collision caused the car’s airbags to deploy.

Five of the injured — Bimlesh, 50, Dalip Soni, 22, Mustafa, 30, Rajwanti, 52, and an unidentified victim, were rushed to PGIMER, where Rajwanti, who was selling corn cobs on the roadside when she was hit, succumbed to her injuries.

Two other victims were admitted to Government Multi-Specialty Hospital, Sector 16. Dalip and the unidentified victim at PGIMER remain critical.

The car driver also suffered injuries, but managed to flee, a senior police officer said.

Police later established that the car is registered in the name of Kamaljit Singh, a businessman and resident of House Number 14, Prabhat Road, Zirakpur, Ward Number 11. Police could not confirm whether the car owner was behind the wheel at the time of the accident.

Police have booked the unidentified driver under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code at the Sarangpur police station.

Sarangpur SHO Rohit Kumar said efforts were underway to trace and arrest the driver.

“We will check the call detail record and the car’s route to identify the person who was driving the car,” a senior police officer said.