Two cyclists dead after speeding car hits them on Golf Course Road

According to cops, the incident took place at 4.30pm when the car was travelling towards the Sector 56 rapid metro station from the Sector 42 station, with three people on board

Two cyclists, including a septuagenarian, died after a speeding car hit them on Golf Course Road near rapid metro pillar number 112 on Tuesday evening, police said on Wednesday.

commuters and a team of traffic policemen rushed to aid the injured cyclists and helped to send them to a private hospital on Sushant Lok Road in Sector 43 in an ambulance. However, neither of them survived, police said. (Representative image)

According to cops, the incident took place at 4.30pm when the car was travelling towards the Sector 56 rapid metro station from the Sector 42 station, with three people on board.

The car first hit Dharampal (70), a resident of Indira colony in Sector 52, and lost control when the driver hit the brakes. The car then hit Saheb Khan (32) after spinning 360 degrees. Both cyclists were dragged on the road for at least 20-30 metres, police said. Dharampal went cycling on GCR every evening with his son Umesh (38). Umesh was a few metres behind Dharampal when the car hit his father. Police have scanned CCTV camera footage of the incident too where the car can be seen speeding and hitting the cyclists.

According to Preet Pal Sangwan, assistant commissioner of police (crime), commuters and a team of traffic policemen rushed to aid the injured cyclists and helped to send them to a private hospital on Sushant Lok Road in Sector 43 in an ambulance. However, neither of them survived, police said.

“The driver, Navin Kumar, a resident of Wazirabad village, was surrounded by commuters and was soon arrested from the spot by a police team,” the ACP said. The speeding car jumped over a divider after hitting Dharampal and landed on the other lane, hitting Khan, sangwan added.

The driver was booked under sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way), 304A (causing death by negligence) and 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of ₹50 or above) of the Indian Penal Code in an FIR registered at Sushant Lok police station on Tuesday night, based on a complaint filed by Umesh. Umesh said that his father was talking even after reaching the hospital but later died during the course of treatment.

Golf Course Road has witnessed some fatal accidents over the past few months. Ananyo Bandopadhayay, an MNC executive, was killed after his motorcycle was hit by a speeding car inside an underpass in the second week of September this year. Ekta Kumari (27) was killed when her car hit a pillar below the Sector 53/54 rapid metro station on July 21.

Sarika Panda Bhatt, a mobility expert, said that such accidents are unacceptable. “We not only need good but also safer roads,” she said. Bhatt added that fatalities are occuring on Golf Course Road even after authorities said they have taken measures to ensure safety of commuters. “The speed limit has been fixed at 50km per hour but no one adheres to it,” she alleged. Bhatt added that challans should be effectively issued and interceptor vehicles must be used to spot speeding vehicles to bring down the accidental deaths.