Man runs over 5 with speeding truck; held

Police said a DTC bus driver blocked the road with his bus when the truck driver tried to flee the spot.

A 93-year-old man, and four members of a family were killed when they were run over, allegedly by a speeding tipper truck in southwest Delhi’s Najafgarh early on Friday morning, said the police. The errant truck driver was arrested, and the vehicle impounded.

Two of the five cars that were damaged in the accident on Friday morning. (Sourced)

Police said a DTC bus driver blocked the road with his bus when the truck driver tried to flee the spot. The arrested driver told the police that he dozed off while driving and lost control of the vehicle, senior officers said.

Rao Jawahar Singh (93), who recovered from Covid-19 last month, was out for a walk while the other four victims – a couple and their two sons, aged five and two-and-a-half, were on their way to a temple in Gurugram, when the incident took place around 5am. The accident spot is around 150 metres away from the Najafgarh police station.

The incident was captured on several CCTV cameras installed at nearby shops. Footage from one of the cameras shows the couple walking on the road with their elder son, while the younger one is in his father’s arms.

The elderly man is not visible in the 50-second video clip, which was posted on social media on Friday.

In the video clip, none of the five victims are in focus when the truck runs them over. However, the cameras capture the truck dragging the victims on the road and crashing into three parked cars.

The entire carriageway on Thana Road, where the incident took place, is divided into two parts with concrete barriers, but only one-way traffic is allowed on the road. Local residents and relatives of the victims said the truck was travelling at a high speed from the Najafgarh police station side.

“The truck suddenly swayed left and hit Jawahar Singh from behind and then ran over the other four. The bodies of three of them were crushed, and they died on the spot. The elderly man and the youngest child were rushed to the nearby Vikas Hospital with grave injuries. The old man succumbed to his wounds, and the child was referred to Safdarjung hospital where he died later in the day,” said Ram Rajoura, a relative of the family.

The four other victims were later identified as Ashok Rajoura (30), his wife Kiran (27), and their two sons – Ishant Rajoura and Dev Rajoura. Ashok worked as a security guard in Vikas Hospital, and his wife was a homemaker. They lived with Ashok’s brother and two uncles.

Ashok’s uncle, Satish Rajoura, said they were at home when they heard a loud crash, and rushed out to see what happened. “We knew it was an accident, but could never imagine that the victims would be my four loved ones,” said Satish.

Ram said the truck driver tried to escape after the accident, but a DTC bus blocked his way about 80 metres from the spot.

Local residents caught the truck driver handed him over to the police.

Deputy commissioner of police (Dwarka) Santosh Kumar Meena said a case of rash and negligent driving causing deaths was registered and the truck driver, identified as Rajesh, was arrested.

“Five vehicles were found damaged at the spot. The accident was caused by a dumper truck driven in a rash and negligent manner,” he added.

Rakesh Yadav, Jawahar Singh’s grandson, said his grandfather walked at least five kilometres every morning and performed yoga to keep himself fit.

“My grandfather was 93, but he was healthy. It was because of his fitness that he survived Covid-19, staying in home isolation with high fever, body ache and cough. I was sleeping when a neighbour woke me up and told me about the accident. By the time I reached the hospital, my grandfather was dead,” he said.