One dead, another injured after speeding Creta hits tree and wall in Delhi

Investigators said the two men were returning from a wedding function nearby and are examining whether alcohol was involved.

A 26-year-old man died and his friend was severely injured after their speeding Hyundai Creta reportedly spun out of control, mounted a footpath and crashed into a tree before slamming into the boundary wall of a park in northwest Delhi’s Bharat Nagar early Tuesday, police said.

Mangled remains of the car after the crash. (HT Photo)

The crash took place around 4.50am near A-Block in Ashok Vihar. The impact was so severe that the vehicle’s frame was left severely mangled. A section of the bonnet lay several metres away, while smaller parts were scattered across the footpath and park entrance, officials said.

Investigators said the two men were returning from a wedding function nearby and are examining whether alcohol was involved.

A senior police officer said they were alerted by morning walkers who spotted the wrecked SUV. “We rushed to the spot and found the Creta in a completely damaged condition. The injured were pulled out and shifted to Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital and Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh,” the officer said.

Police identified the driver as Pratham Malik, 26, a resident of Model Town. He was declared dead on arrival at the hospital. His friend Aditya Singh, 25, is undergoing treatment at Fortis and is currently unfit to give a statement.

“The car appears to have hit the divider, then a tree, at very high speed. The driver died at the spot,” said DCP (northwest) Bhisham Singh. Families of both men have been informed.

Officers said the exact cause of the crash remains unclear and will be established once Singh is able to speak. A case of rash driving and causing death by negligence has been registered, and police are probing all possible angles.

In a separate incident, a 22-year-old man riding a Bullet motorcycle died and his friend was injured after a Swift car rammed into them from behind near Krishna Nagar, police said.

The crash occurred around 4am. The Swift was found perched on the road divider while the badly damaged bike lay a short distance away. Police said the car struck the motorcycle from the rear at high speed. The victims, Shahbaaz Khan, 22, and Sameer Ahmad, 21, were rushed to the hospital, where Khan was declared dead. The car’s driver, Rishabh Singh, 28, was also taken to a hospital for treatment.

Police said Singh’s co-passenger fled the spot after the collision. Legal action has been initiated against both men, and further investigation is underway.