Man learning to drive kills elderly woman, injures two

An unidentified elderly woman was killed, and two others were injured as a man ran over three people in Kandivali West on Friday evening while taking driving lessons

MUMBAI: An unidentified elderly woman was killed, and two others were injured as a man ran over three people in Kandivali West on Friday evening while taking driving lessons. Police officials said that the man was learning to drive the car and, instead of stepping on the brakes, stepped on the accelerator, resulting in the unexpected speeding of the car, which ran over three people, including the deceased elderly woman. The police said they had arrested two people – the man at the wheel, Surendra Gupta, and the owner of the car, Rajendra Gupta, who was sitting beside him in the front passenger seat.

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According to the police, the incident took place on Friday evening when Saurabh Kumar Yadav, 19, a native of Bihar who came to Mumbai in search of a job and stayed with his brother in Poisar, Kandivali East, was going to the office of a Chartered Accountant in search of work.

“When I reached Mayfair Green Society in Poisar at Gamdevi Road in Kandivali West, I heard a loud noise and before I could understand what was happening, a white Maruti Suzuki Wagon-R came towards me at high speed and hit me. I somehow managed to hop onto the bonnet of the car. It covered some more distance and then stopped,” said Yadav.

After the car stopped, Yadav immediately jumped from the bonnet and found out that the car had hit two persons, including an elderly woman who had suffered severe bleeding injuries and a man who also had sustained injuries.

“The woman was immediately rushed to Shatabdi Hospital where she was declared dead before admission. We are still in the process of identifying her. Yadav has suffered injuries to his hands, shoulders, and thighs. He hails from Bihar and had come to Mumbai for work; his brother works as a waiter in a restaurant in Borivali,” said a police officer.

The police officer said the accused have been identified as Surendra Gupta and Rajendra Gupta. The vehicle is owned by Rajendra, who was teaching Surendra how to drive it.

“We have arrested them and booked them under sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way), 304(II) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code. We have also applied various sections of the Motor Vehicle Act for not holding a valid license and despite that, driving the vehicle on the road,” said the police officer.