Delhi: Four of a family, driver killed after dumper truck rams Innova on NH 24

An Innova carrying eight people turned thrice after being hit by the truck on NH 24. Four members of a family, including a couple in fifties and their teenaged children, were killed in the accident.

At least five people, including four members of a family, were killed and four others injured after the multi-purpose vehicle they were travelling in was rammed by a truck in east Delhi’s Kalyanpuri area early on Wednesday, police said.

There were eight people in the Innova out of which five were killed in the mishap. (HT Photo)

The Innova was carrying eight members of a family belonging to Meerut in Uttar Pradesh. They were returning to their home from the Delhi airport after receiving a relative who was arriving from Iran, police said.

The dump truck overturned after ramming into the Innova.

As the Innova was passing through Kalyanpuri on National Highway 24 around 3am, a dumper truck travelling on the opposite carriageway broke through the road divider and rammed into the Innova.

“It is possible the driver fell asleep. He escaped from the accident spot, but we hope to nab him soon,” deputy commissioner of police (east) Omvir Singh said.

By the time the occupants could be pulled out of the mangled remains of the Innova, five of them had already died. The rest were rushed to a nearby hospital where at least one of them is in a critical condition.

The dead have been identified as 55-year-old Qamar Abbas Zaidi, his wife Anjum Fathima Zaidi, 50, son Azhar Abbas Zaidi, 18, daughter Juhi Fathima, 14, and the 33-year-old driver Mehraj. Among the injured are three children, including Zaidi’s 13-year-old son Abbas, and a woman, the DCP said.

Relatives of the five persons at Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital in New Delhi.

The police said they were in a process of registering a case and have formed a team to identify and nab the errant truck driver and establish the exact sequence of events leading to the accident.

The mangled remains of the two vehicles, meanwhile, were being removed from the accident spot by the Delhi Traffic Police in the morning.

The mangled Innova that met with an accident on NH 24.

Government data says someone dies every 3.7 minutes in road accidents across the country, which is known for rash driving, inadequate traffic enforcement, badly maintained roads and poor quality cars.

In the last six years, at least 10,000 persons died in road accidents across Delhi. The number is more than thrice compared to Mumbai and at least two times more in comparison to Bengaluru’s road fatalities.