Driver dies as truck rams stationary vehicle on Delhi-Jaipur eway

A truck driver died after crashing into an illegally parked truck on the Delhi-Jaipur expressway. The other driver fled; an FIR has been filed.

Gurugram: A 34-year-old truck driver died after his vehicle crashed into another truck parked illegally on the Delhi-Jaipur expressway near Binola in Bilaspur on Thursday, police said.

According to investigators, it took almost three hours to cut open the truck’s mangled cabin to recover Kumar’s body (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Police identified the deceased as Arun Kumar, who lived in Delhi’s Mandoli and hailed from Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh. Police said Kumar had been working with a Delhi-based transport firm for several years. The driver of the stationary truck is currently absconding, police said.

According to investigators, it took almost three hours to cut open the truck’s mangled cabin to recover Kumar’s body.

Police said Kumar had loaded his container truck in Delhi and was en route to Khushkhera in Rajasthan for delivery when the crash occurred between 2:30am and 3am.

A police officer said the driver of the other truck had parked the vehicle on the carriageway after his vehicle allegedly broke down.

“The driver failed to alert the police or the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) about the situation. Instead, he left the truck in the busy side lane without placing reflectors or markers to warn approaching traffic,” the officer said.

He added that Kumar could not spot the stationary truck in time and ended up ramming into it.

According to investigators, Kumar was trapped inside the mangled chassis, and could not be rescued in time. The crash slowed traffic, and normalcy was restored by 6 am after cranes removed both the vehicles, they added.

Police said arranging cranes took at least an hour because no operators were available when police reached the scene shortly after receiving an alert.

Sandeep Turan, public relations officer of Gurugram police, said that on the complaint of the Kumar’s family, an FIR was registered against the driver of the stationary truck under sections 106 (causing death by negligence) and 281 (rash driving) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Bilaspur police station on Thursday.

“The driver of the stationary truck fled the spot soon after the accident. He is yet to be identified,” Turan said, adding that Kumar’s body was handed over to the family after autopsy.