Street racing triggers crash in Delhi, auto driver killed

One eyewitness, Rakesh, who runs a tea stall near the accident spot, said that the i20 and another car were racing.

A 45-year-old auto driver was killed while a rickshaw puller injured after a speeding car, which was allegedly racing with another car, rammed into an auto-rickshaw near Sukhdev Vihar Metro station in south Delhi on Saturday morning, police said.

The damaged vehicles that were involved in the accident on Saturday. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

Police identified the deceased as Mohammad Kalam, a resident of Khizrabad near New Friends Colony in south Delhi. The injured was Mohammad Bablu, a rickshaw puller.

Mohd Talib, 21, the driver of the offending car, was arrested after questioning, police said.

Police said that according to eyewitnesses, the white Hyundai i20 was moving at high speed. It appeared to be racing another car while arriving from the Modi Mill flyover. The i20 driver lost control and crashed into the auto-rickshaw, then crashed into a rickshaw and the pavement, before coming to a halt. The four occupants, including the driver of the i20, left the area in the second car.

One eyewitness, Rakesh, who runs a tea stall near the accident spot, said that the i20 and another car were racing.

“Both vehicles were going towards Jamia Nagar. The white i20 hit the auto and a cycle rickshaw. Four people were inside the car. They came out and left in the other car that stopped a few metres ahead,” said Rakesh.

It is not clear if the driver of the vehicle was intoxicated at the time of the incident, police said.

Police officers said they were verifying allegations of a race between two cars and the exact sequence leading to the crash.

Deputy commissioner of police (DCP) (southeast) Vineet Kumar said the New Friends Colony (NFC) police station received information about the crash at 7.15 am. A police team reached the spot and found a damaged i20 and an auto-rickshaw, both bearing Delhi registration numbers.

Police said the injured men were rushed to a nearby private hospital, where the auto driver was declared brought dead.

“The forensic team and crime scene inspection team collected evidence. A case has been registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita’s sections 281 (rash driving) and 106 (causing death by negligence) and investigation is in progress,” added the DCP.