Social media influencer among 4 dead in Mohali road crashes

Neeraj Sharma, 38, was killed and seven others injured after their Maruti Baleno car got sandwiched between a tipper truck and a bus, at Bakarpur light point on Airport Road around 4:30 am on Sunday.

Four persons lost their lives in separate accidents in Mohali within a span of 48 hours, once again raising questions over road safety in the city which saw 312 mishap deaths over the last year.

Neeraj Sharma, 38, a Himachal Pradesh native who resided in Kharar, was travelling with his family and relatives to Haridwar when the tragedy struck. He was a social media influencer. (HT File)

In the first case, a social media influencer, identified as Neeraj Sharma, 38, was killed and seven others injured after their Maruti Baleno car got sandwiched between a tipper truck and a bus, at Bakarpur light point on Airport Road around 4:30 am on Sunday. Sharma, a Himachal Pradesh native who resided in Kharar, was travelling with his family and relatives to Haridwar when the tragedy struck. There were eight occupants in the car -- two couples and four children aged between 2 to 8 – at the time.

As per information, they had stopped at the light point when a truck, bearing registration number PB-07-3242, hit their car from the back, causing it to crash into a bus ahead of it. Onlookers pulled the victims out of the mangled car and rushed them to a private hospital in Zirakpur where Sharma succumbed to his injuries while the others, including the children, were referred to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Reasearch.

The truck driver, Lakhwinder Singh of Hoshiarpur, was also left injured after his legs were crushed as a result of the collision. He is admitted at the Phase-6 civil hospital, from where he later escaped. He has been booked under Sections 281 (rash driving), 106 (causing death by negligence), 324(4) (intentionally damaging or causing loss to property) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

In another accident near Airport Chowk, a man, identified as Ajay Kumar, was killed after being hit by a tempo around 11:30 pm on Saturday. The victim’s uncle Shri Pal, an Uttar Pradesh native, told the police that the duo was going on a bike and had stopped to answer nature’s call. It was then that the tempo hit his nephew while he was waiting near his bike. The tempo driver fled the spot soon after the incident. A case under Sections 281, 106, 324(4) of BNS has been registered.

In the third case, a motorcyclist, identified as Mohammad Haleem, died after being hit by a tipper truck in Kuranwala village, Dera Bassi, on Saturday. Police booked the driver identified as Nishant Rana, who fled the scene after the mishap. Haleem succumbed to his injuries at the Dera Bassi civil hospital.

In the fourth case, a cyclist was killed after being hit by an unidentified speeding vehicle in Handesra. The deceased was identified as Tarsem Singh, 61. Police have booked an unidentified person in the case.