2 dead, child hurt as truck topples on car

The couple were identified as Manish Sharma (37) and Kshipra Joshi (32), who died a day after their marriage anniversary.

A couple were killed after a truck lost control and toppled on their car in south Delhi’s RK Puram area late on Wednesday, while their six-year-old daughter suffered minor injuries and survived, said the police. The driver of the truck was arrested on Thursday afternoon.

The accident, which occurred in RK Puram, nearly flattened the car.  (ANI photo)

The couple were identified as Manish Sharma (37) and Kshipra Joshi (32), who died a day after their wedding anniversary, which they celebrated at Sharma’s brother house in Rajasthan’s Bhiwadi, according to a friend of theirs.

Joshi was a homemaker, and Sharma worked as a legal consultant with a private firm.

They were returning home to Noida from Bhiwadi with their daughter Mishika when the accident took place on Ring Road, near the Hyatt Regency in RK Puram, the police said.

A hydraulic crane was deployed at the spot to help with rescue efforts, after personnel from the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) and police failed to free the couple and the child from the car, which was practically flattened.

The rescue teams used gas cutters to cut the mangled car and rescue the three occupants.

He said that around midnight, the RK Puram police station received a call reporting the accident.

A police team reached the spot and found that the dumper toppled onto the car after hitting a divider. The driver of the truck fled after the accident.

“A case was registered and the driver arrested in the afternoon (Thursday) following raids at his possible hideouts,” said the DCP.

The truck driver told the police that he had turned his vehicle to the right side of the road when another vehicle attempted to overtake it.

The speeding truck then hit the divider, due to which the driver lost control and his truck fell onto the car, which was moving parallel to it on the left.

“The front of the car was badly crushed. Since the couple was seated on the front seats, they were severely hurt, while their daughter was on the backseat and survived. The girl was also admitted to the hospital but was discharged after being administered immediate medical attention,” said a police officer.

Sharma’s friend, Vivek Pathak, said a passerby used Sharma’s cellphone to contact a friend and inform them of the mishap. The friend, Nitin, then informed Sharma’s family, said Pathak.

Meanwhile, traffic on the carriageway was disturbed for nearly an hour, and the police opened up the service lane as an alternate route.

Normalcy was restored on the main carriageway around 1am, said senior police officers who were present at the spot.