5-yr-old run over by minor out on joyride

14-year-old was behind the wheel, lost control of the speeding vehicle while reversing; victim’s sister fractures leg in mishap.

It was a joyride that turned fatal for a five-year-old girl. Two friends were out on a ride in an Alto car when the driver, a 14-year-old, tried to reverse the car and crushed the girl.

The incident took place in the Jaitpur area of southeast Delhi on Wednesday evening when two girls, aged four and five, were sitting outside their house with their mother. The 14-year-old’s car companion was a minor too.

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“Himanshi (4) and Munni (5) were sitting outside with their mother Neelam. Around 6pm, an Alto car came from D-block main road and tried to take the right turn before my house. The driver was unable to take the turn and reversed the car. It was then that the two children came under the car’s rear wheel,” Malkiyat Singh, Himanshi’s father said.

The driver was unable to control the speeding car. It hit the gate of Singh’s house. While Neelam managed to escape by jumping towards the right, the two children could not react.

“Local residents rushed to spot and pulled out the two children. A PCR call was made and the police van took them to AIIMS trauma centre. Munni was declared brought dead due to excessive bleeding while Himanshi is still recuperating,” Singh added.

Police said the driver fled the scene, leaving the car behind. The vehicle was, however, traced with the help of the registration number. The driver has been apprehended, and since he is a minor, he was produced before a Child Welfare Committee. “He is a student of class 9 and lives in the same colony,” a senior police officer said.

Police have taken Neelam’s statement but Himanshi is not fit for a statement yet. “She has fractured her leg and we have brought her home. Both the girls used to sit outside the house and play in the evening,” their father said.