Car falls 15 ft off Jharsa flyover, student dies

The car they were travelling in hit the road divider and fell off the Jharsa flyover, plunging around 15 feet, on the main carriageway of the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway around 10pm on Monday

In a fatal incident of speeding, a 22-year-old student of a private varsity died and two others were injured when the car they were travelling in hit the road divider and fell off the Jharsa flyover, plunging around 15 feet, on the main carriageway of the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway around 10pm on Monday.

The car flipped multiple times before coming to a halt, eyewitnesses said. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

The car was severely mangled, with eyewitnesses saying that the trio had to be pulled out with great difficulty.

The deceased was identified as Rishab Guleria, who was driving the vehicle and died during treatment early Tuesday. He was a native of Himachal Pradesh, but had been residing in Sector 17 for the past 20 years.The injured duo was identified as Kamal Sehrawat, 23, of Sukhrali, and Naman Gujjar, 18, of Sector 31.

The police said the injured persons are being treated at a private hospital in Sector 38. The trio was heading to Rajeev Chowk after meeting a friend in Sukhrali’s Sector 17 when the incident took place, they said.

Varun Dahiya, assistant commissioner of police (crime), said: “The car was speeding and the driver lost control, due to which it rammed into the divider of the flyover and due to the impact, it fell 15 feet. The car overturned before it fell, due to which the tree occupants were severely injured and suffered multiple fractures, besides other injuries.”

The police are awaiting medical reports to determine whether the driver was driving drunk. They also said that there was no CCTV camera installed at the spot, although they have retrieved a few relevant video recordings. “Fortunately, the traffic volume was low at the time of the accident. Otherwise, the car could have collided with pedestrians or other vehicles,” said Dahiya.

Dahiya said traffic police, deployed 50 metres from the spot, took the injured to the hospital and informed their family members.

Manoj Yadav, an eyewitness, said that he was walking towards Rajeev Chowk when he heard a loud thud that scared him. “I turned around and was shocked to see a car that was mangled, with its occupants screaming in pain. I helped the police bring them out. One of them was in two pieces,” he said.

Another eyewitness, Ashok Gautam, a resident of Jharsa, said he was behind the trio’s car on the flyover. “The driver was speeding and all of a sudden, hit in the median, became air-borne and fell off. It was scary, as the occupants were almost out of the car. The car overturned several times before coming to a halt,” he said.

Police said commuters started gathering at the spot, resulting in traffic congestion on the stretch. “The police teams called a crane and removed the car from the spot within half hour,” Dahiya said.

Police said no case has been registered yet and they are waiting to record statements of the injured.