Three on scooter ram stationary truck on Delhi-Meerut e-way, dead
The men possibly ventured on the expressway during the weekend and met with the accident, police said
Three men riding a two-wheeler without wearing helmets on the Delhi- Meerut Expressway (DME) crashed into the rear-end of a stationary truck around 3am on Sunday and died, police said.
The two-wheeler, a prohibited vehicle on the expressway, was being suspectedly driven at about 70-80 kilometre per hour. The incident occurred on the Ghaziabad-Meerut carriageway opposite to the Hawa Hawai restaurant under the jurisdiction of Masuri police station, officers said.
Police identified the deceased as Bittu alias Vikas Kumar, 21, and Anshu Singh, 30, both residents of Trilokpuri, Delhi, and the third as Vipin Bhatt, 25, from New Ashok Nagar, Delhi.
“All three were riding the two-wheeler and entered the DME from Delhi. They reached up to Masuri and possibly failed to spot the truck parked in an unauthorised manner on the expressway. The two-wheeler rammed into the rear of the truck and all three suffered critical injuries. Police teams reached the spot and took all three injured to community health centre at Dasna where they were declared brought dead,” said Siddharth Gautam, assistant commissioner of police (ACP), Masuri/Muradnagar circle.
The men possibly ventured on the expressway during the weekend and met with the accident, officers said.
“We have sent the bodies for autopsy and are waiting for the families to complete the formalities and file a police complaint. The driver later sped away with the truck. We will identify him and the truck,” said Ajay Kumar, station house officer (SHO), Masuri police station.
Shikha Kumari, sister of Bittu, said that her brother had come to visit the “Hawai Adda” (Hawa Hawai restaurant).
“They had come to visit the ‘Hawai Adda’ near Masuri. Late Saturday night, he borrowed my two-wheeler and left with two other friends. Later, I learned about the accident from police. He was unemployed,” she added.
Vipin’s father Laxmi Prasad Bhatt, a native of Uttarakhand, was in Rishikesh for some work, when he got someone’s call about the accident.
“I called my elder son back at home and informed about the accident. Vipin was unemployed and had left home around 7pm, saying he would be back soon,” the father said.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), meanwhile, did not revert to calls seeking their response over the issue.
A video of the incident captured on CCTVs on the DME, meanwhile, went viral.
The video shows two stationary trucks parked in one of the extreme left lanes of the DME while other vehicles are passing through. Suddenly, the two-wheeler arrives and crashes into the rear of the second truck.
Meanwhile, traffic police officials also conducted a site inspection on the DME.
“Two-wheelers are not allowed on the expressway and the truck was also parked in an unauthorised manner. There are patrolling vans of NHAI on the expressway. They undertake rounds on the stretch and are expected to check such instances. The duties of the traffic police personnel end around 10pm. The control-room of NHAI did not send us any alert about the men riding triple on the expressway. The authority just sends us e-challans of vehicles violating traffic norms,” said Piyush Kumar Singh, additional deputy commissioner of police (traffic).
Traffic officials said that the Bhojpur crossing and the rest of the area, opposite to the Hawa Hawai restaurant, are listed as two major accident-prone hotspots on the DME. A total of 14 separate accidents have occurred at the two hotspots between August, 2023 and July, 2024.