One killed as van crashes into SUV on Eastern Peripheral Expressway

According to police, both vehicles were headed towards the interchange from the Baghpat side and rammed each other around 9pm Monday

A 45-year-old man was killed and five others injured after a speeding Eeco van, with nine passengers on board, crashed into a Toyota Fortuner on the Eastern Peripheral Expressway stretch near Dasna interchange in Ghaziabad on Monday night.

The police later brought the two cars to the local police post. The Eeco bore a registration number of Sambhal district while the Fortuner was registered in Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

According to police, both vehicles were headed towards the interchange from the Baghpat side and rammed each other around 9pm Monday. The police later rushed the passengers to the Sanjay Nagar Combined District Hospital where one of the Eeco van passengers, Mohammad Shaukeen, was declared dead on arrival.

“The Eeco crashed into the rear of a Fortuner on the EPE. Both vehicles were on the same side of EPE. One person died and several other persons were injured. They were taken to a hospital for treatment. The exact cause of the accident is still not known and the police will investigate the matter. We are awaiting a complaint from the affected passengers in this regard,” said assistant commissioner of police (Masuri) Nimish Patil.

The police later brought the two cars to the local police post. The Eeco bore a registration number of Sambhal district while the Fortuner was registered in Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh.

“My brother works as a contractor in Gurugram and was going to meet his family at Garhmukteshwar in Hapur district. He boarded the Eeco van after paying a fare till Garhmukteshwar and there were other passengers in the vehicle. All passengers were from different families. We received information about the accident on Monday night from the police. Once we complete the post mortem formalities, we will file a police complaint,” said Mohammad Abbas, brother of deceased passenger, Shaukeen.

The deceased is a native of Meerut district, police said.

The police said the injured persons include two women Sanjay Kumari, 25, and Neeraj Devi, 28. The other injured passengers were identified as Mayank Kumar, 20, Sonu Chand, 25 and Tara Singh, 26. The others in teh Eeco escaped with minor injuries while passengers in the Fortuner escaped unhurt.

The personnel from the Masuri police station said the Fortuner occupants were returning from Amritsar and headed to Bareilly while the Ecco van was coming from Jhajjhar in Haryana and headed to Amroha district in Uttar Pradesh.