Speeding car flips, lands on roof of another, 2 dead in Delhi

Puneet Kohli, a 33-year-old insurance company manager who was in the EcoSport alone, and 25-year-old Mohammad Suhail Ahmed, who was driving the Honda Civic, were critically injured and died en route to the hospital.

Two men were killed and at least two others were injured in an accident on the Ring Road near the Indraprastha Metro station in central Delhi early on Friday, police said.

The damaged EcoSport on Friday. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

According to police, around 1am, the driver of a Honda Civic car lost control of the vehicle, which crashed through the central verge onto the opposite carriageway, where it landed on the roof of a Ford EcoSport before flipping over.

On impact, Puneet Kohli, a 33-year-old insurance company manager who was in the EcoSport alone, was critically injured as he was pinned between the floor and the crushed roof of the car. He was rescued by police personnel and some passersby but died on the way to the AIIMS Trauma Centre, police said.

The other casualty was identified as Mohammad Suhail Ahmed, a 25-year-old vehicle compressor mechanic, who was driving the Honda Civic. His friends Rihan and Junaid, both 21, were with him at the time of the accident and were severely injured.

Like Kohli, the three were rescued by police personnel and passersby. They were rushed to Lok Nayak Hospital, where Ahmed was declared dead on arrival. Junaid and Rihan are still under treatment at the hospital, but are out of danger, deputy commissioner of police (central) Sanjay Kumar Sain said.

“During preliminary enquiry, we learnt that the driver of the Honda Civic lost control of the vehicle. We have registered a case of rash and negligent driving causing death and injuries under sections 279, 304A, and 337 of the Indian Penal Code,” said DCP Sain.

Police officers said that forensic experts and crime scene investigation team inspected the accident spot. Authorities will also conduct a mechanical inspection of both the cars to ascertain the extent of damages and to check if a technical fault (such as brake failure) led to the accident. Experts will also ascertain the speed at which the Honda Civic was being driven, officers said.

Amit Walia, Kohli’s friend, said Kohli was on his way to Lady Hardinge Hospital to meet his uncle, who is being treated for a liver ailment, and spend the night there as his attendant. Kohli was from east Delhi’s Krishna Nagar but had rented a house in Ghaziabad some months ago. He is survived by his parents and a younger brother, said Walia.

“Someone at the accident spot used Kohli’s mobile phone to inform his family about the incident,” added Walia.

Kohli’s body was handed over to his family after the autopsy at AIIMS Trauma Centre.

Ahmed’s family said that he had left home in Hauz Sai Wala near Daryaganj to have dinner in Okhla with Junaid and Rihan in his friend Honda Civic car around 10.30pm on Thursday. They were on their way back home when the accident took place, said Ahmed’s cousin, Nafis Ahmed, and added that Ahmed is survived by his father, a car mechanic, and four sisters.

“I always asked him (Ahmed) not to go out with friends late in the night. But he never listened to me. He learnt how to drive a car around five years ago and had a valid driving licence,” said Ahmed’s father, Akil, seated on a bench outside the Maulana Azad Medical College mortuary.

Ahmed had celebrated his 24th birthday on February 11, the family said.