Boy injured in Friday accident on Yamuna Expressway dies; toll at six

A 10-year-old boy has died from injuries sustained in an accident on the Yamuna Expressway, bringing the death toll to six. The accident occurred when a Maruti Eeco was hit by an unidentified vehicle. Three children were injured and are in critical condition. The police are still searching for the suspect and have checked CCTV footage for leads. It has been discovered that the Eeco was speeding at 120km/hour at the time of the accident, above the speed limit of 100 km/hour on the expressway.

A 10-year-old boy, who was one of three children injured in an accident on the Yamuna Expressway early Saturday, succumbed to injuries on Monday evening, his relatives said on Tuesday. With this, the death toll from the accident has risen to six.

Earlier, five people were killed while three others -- all of them children -- were injured after a Maruti Eeco hit by an unidentified vehicle on the Yamuna Expressway on Friday night. . On Monday, one of the injured children succumbed to injuries. (HT Photo)

Earlier, five people were killed while three others -- all of them children -- were injured after a Maruti Eeco hit by an unidentified vehicle on the Yamuna Expressway on Friday night. The deceased were identified as Upendra Baitha (38), Bijendra Baitha (36), Kanti Devi (30), Kumari Jyoti (12) and Suresh Kamat Baitha (45) - all residents of a slum colony in Madanpur Khadar village of Delhi’s Kalindi Kunj area.

The three children -- Suraj (16), son of Upendra; Ayush (8) and Aryan (10), sons of Bijendra -- were critically injured and admitted to a nearby hospital.

“The children were admitted to a private hospital in Jewar by the police on Saturday. However, doctors referred them to Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital the same evening as their condition was critical. On Monday evening, Aryan succumbed to injuries. Ayush also continues to be very critical,” said Babban Kumar, a relative of the family and a resident of Kalindi Kunj, Delhi.

He had earlier said, “The family was heading to Jharkhand for the funeral of a relative. This accident has wiped off a whole family, and all of us are in shock. We are praying for the recovery of the children who are under treatment. We hope that the police nab the culprits.”

Following the accident, an FIR was registered at the Rabupura police station on a complaint given by the relatives, against unknown suspects, under charges of rash driving and death due to negligence of the Indian Penal Code.

The Greater Noida police, however, still has no leads on the vehicle that hit the Eeco van carrying the eight passengers.

“The spot where the accident took place is not covered by CCTV cameras. We have deployed teams to nab the suspect and footage from CCTV cameras are being checked to identify the vehicle and the driver that hit the Eeco van,” said Ashok Kumar, additional deputy commissioner of police, Greater Noida.

It has come to fore that the Eeco van was going at a speed of 120km/hour at the time of the accident, said police. A speed camera at the 19.5km milestone on the Yamuna Expressway had issued a fine of ₹2,000 to the owner of the vehicle-- Bijendra Baitha -- at 1.01am on Saturday.

“Investigations have found that the car was going at a speed of 120km/hour, well above the speed limit for light vehicles, which is 100 km/hour on the Yamuna Expressway. The speed camera had automatically issued a fine to the vehicle at the 19.5km milestone of the expressway around 1 am, just minutes before the accident, which happened around 1.10pm,” said the ADCP.