1 dead, 7 injured as auto-rickshaw is hit by truck on NH-48 in Gurugram

According to police, the truck overtook the auto-rickshaw from the wrong side, causing the three-wheeler to topple.

A passenger died and seven others sustained severe injuries after the auto-rickshaw they were travelling in was hit by a speeding truck and overturned on the Delhi-Jaipur expressway (NH-48) between Panchgaon and Bilaspur Chowk early Tuesday morning, police said on Wednesday.

Police said the truck driver had managed to flee from the spot and is yet to be traced. (HT Photo)

The accident occurred between 3.30am and 4am when the group of friends, aged between 18 and 22 years, were returning home to Bhiwadi, Rajasthan, after visiting Sahara Mall and its pubs on MG Road in Sector 28, Gurugram, on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan on Monday night. According to police, the truck overtook the auto rickshaw from the wrong side, causing the three-wheeler to topple.

Inspector Yogesh Kumar, the station house officer of Bilaspur police station, confirmed that one of the passengers, 18-year-old Suraj Kumar, died instantly at the scene after suffering severe head injuries. Suraj was crushed under the rickshaw when it overturned.

The other occupants of the auto-rickshaw—Rahul Singh, Pankaj Kumar, Neeraj, Shubham Prasad, Neeraj Kumar, Sachin Kumar Mandal, and Deepraj Singh—sustained multiple fractures and deep cuts. They are currently undergoing treatment, with two of them, Pankaj Kumar and Neeraj, in critical condition. They have been transferred to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi for advanced care.

Rahul Singh, who was driving the auto-rickshaw, managed to escape by breaking the windshield and alerted the police control room. “No commuters stopped even after I begged several passing cars for help. I finally started pulling them out on my own. By the time some commuters reached for help, I had pulled out three of them,” Rahul told police.

An emergency response vehicle, an ambulance, and some helpful commuters transported all the injured to a nearby hospital for treatment. “Pankaj and Neeraj’s condition was critical. They were shifted to Safdarjung hospital, Delhi,” he added. Police said the truck driver had managed to flee from the spot and is yet to be traced.

On Rahul’s statement, an FIR was registered against an unidentified truck driver under sections 106 (causing death by negligence), 125 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 281 (rash driving or riding on public way) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Bilaspur police station on Tuesday.