2 cousins among 4 killed after speeding truck hits parked crane in South Delhi

The victims were installing and checking traffic violation detection cameras when the dumper veered towards them and hit the two vehicles, police said.

Four people, including two members of a family, were killed and two others injured after an allegedly speeding dumper truck crashed into a parked boom lift (crane) and then an auto-rickshaw at a Delhi Traffic Police camera installation site in south Delhi early Sunday, police said.

A view of the damaged auto-rickshaw kept at Sarita Vihar Police Station following the accident. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

The accident occurred around 3.20am on the Kalindi Kunj-Sarita Vihar Road, near the central verge of the Road No. 13A carriageway towards Sarita Vihar from Noida.

The victims were installing and checking traffic violation detection cameras when the dumper veered towards them and hit the two vehicles. The truck then crashed into the concrete road divider, police said.

The truck was unloaded at the time of the incident. The driver fled the scene, leaving behind both the vehicle and the injured individuals. Police suspect the truck was returning from Noida after unloading material and was heading to Faridabad for reloading.

The truck owner was identified as Sagar Bhadana, a resident of Khakri village in Faridabad. Police said efforts were on to arrest the driver. A senior police officer said the driver may have been drunk or could have dozed off while driving.

Deputy commissioner of police (southeast) Vineet Kumar said police received information about the incident at the Sarita Vihar police station. “Police found that a medium-size dumper truck coming from Noida collided with a stationary crane (boom lift) and an auto-rickshaw carrying workers,” Kumar added.

A case of rash driving and death by negligence was registered under Sections 281 and 106 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the truck driver at the Sarita Vihar police station.

Preliminary probe revealed that six to seven employees of Aabmatica, a Nehru Place-based private company that installs traffic violation cameras for the Traffic Police, were at the site.

HT contacted the company’s representative, Umang, for a comment regarding the incident. Umang acknowledged the deaths of the company’s staffers and stated that further updates will be shared once he arrives in Delhi.

Six injured rushed for treatment, three declred brought dead

Two workers were on the boom lift, installing and checking cameras at a height of around 30 feet. The others were on the road, supervising the work and managing traffic. The auto driver hired by the workers was also present, the officer said.

“All of them were working on the extreme right of the carriageway when the allegedly speeding truck veered towards them from the left and hit them and the two vehicles, killing three of them, including the auto driver, on the spot,” the officer added.

All six injured people were rushed to a nearby private hospital, where three were declared brought dead. The deceased were identified as 34-year-old HR manager Suraj Nayal, auto driver Umesh Kumar, 23, and technician Praveen Kumar, 35. Praveen’s 26-year-old cousin, Anup Kumar, later died during treatment.

The two injured were identified as Aakash, 20, and Khem Singh, 40. Another employee Sudhir, who was also present at the site and escaped unharmed, police added.

’He was the main earning member of his family’

Devdutt Kumar, 21, brother of Umesh, said his brother drove a rented auto and took four neighbours to different parts of Delhi for camera installation and maintenance work. They had been working night shifts from 10pm to 5am for the past six months. Umesh, the only earning member for his six-member family, was paid ₹350 every night.

“Around 4.30am, Praveen’s wife Annu came to our house and informed us that Umesh and Praveen were injured in a road crash in Sarita Vihar. We rushed to the private hospital, where policemen told us that Umesh and Praveen were among three dead people,” added Devdutt.

Praveen’s brother Brajesh Kumar, a retired Indian Army soldier, said Praveen lived in Delhi with his wife and two daughters. Their parents live in Kanpur, UP. Anup’s parents also live in Kanpur, while he lived with his wife in Delhi.

“I left Kanpur by train as soon as I learnt about the deaths. Praveen had been working in the company for nearly 10 years as a camera technician. We lost two members of our family, while another is battling for his life in hospital,” added Brajesh.

Relatives of Suraj Nayal said he lived with his wife and two daughters in Delhi’s Munirka. The family originally belongs to Mukteshwar in Uttarakhand. “He was also the main earning member of his family, including his parents living in Mukteshwar. The company should compensate for our loss,” said his brother-in-law Rajender Bisht.

Police said the vehicles involved in the accident have been impounded.