Iron bars on e-rick pierce through cab; driver dies on Dwarka E-way

A 22-year-old cab driver was killed and his woman passenger critically injured after a stack of iron rebars being transported on an electric rickshaw pierced through their car on the Dwarka Expressway early Friday, police said

A 22-year-old cab driver was killed and his woman passenger critically injured after a stack of iron rebars being transported on an electric rickshaw pierced through their car on the Dwarka Expressway early Friday, police said.

The damaged car seen post the accident. (HT)

The deceased was identified as Shivendra Kumar, 22, a native of Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh. Police said the identity of the injured passenger is yet to be ascertained.

According to police, the e-rickshaw had loaded the rebars from a building material supplier in Badshahpur and was transporting them to Sector 37D. It had illegally entered the Dwarka Expressway, where two- and three-wheelers are prohibited, apparently to reach the destination faster.

The accident took place around 12.30am when the cab was travelling towards Delhi.

A senior police officer said the preliminary investigation has revealed that the e-rickshaw driver applied the brakes suddenly, causing the car behind it to crash into the rebars protruding from the rear of the vehicle.

“The cab was travelling at high speed and the driver probably had little time to react before colliding with the e-rickshaw. The rebars pierced the front windshield and exited through the rear of the car,” the officer said. Videos of the gruesome accident are being circulated widely on social media, police said.

Investigators said they were yet to establish the identity of the passenger or determine where she had boarded the cab, as her family shifted her from the first hospital where she was taken after the crash.

Sandeep Turan, public relations officer, said police are trying to identify and trace the passenger.

“The e-rickshaw driver fled the spot soon after the accident. Passers-by alerted the police control room, following which emergency response teams were dispatched to the spot,” he said.

Turan said the cab driver’s family has been informed and is expected to reach the city by Saturday. Their complaint will form the basis for registering an FIR.

Meanwhile, a traffic police officer who was among the first responders said an NHAI ambulance was quick to reach the spot and transport the woman to the closest hospital. “We remain deployed on the expressway and regularly penalise traffic violators. Two- and three-wheelers are not permitted on this stretch,” he said.