7-yr-old crushed by ‘drunk’ driver

A seven-year-old boy was crushed to death by a speeding Wagon R car being driven allegedly by an inebriated driver in east Delhi’s Geeta Colony, late on Wednesday night. The driver has been arrested.

A seven-year-old boy was crushed to death by a speeding Wagon R car being driven allegedly by an inebriated driver in east Delhi’s Geeta Colony, late on Wednesday night. The driver has been arrested.

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According to police, the incident took place at around 11.20 pm, when the victim was trying to cross the road with his elder sister. The girl escaped unhurt, police said.

The victim, along with his family, had gone to attend the wedding ceremony of his uncle’s sister-in-law organised at a banquet hall at Shankar Nagar in Geeta Colony.

The victim’s family has alleged that the errant car driver was driving under the influence and a bottle of liquor was also recovered from the car.

The deceased has been identified as Hemant Kumar, who studied in nursery class at a private school at Vikas Kunj in Karawal Nagar. Kumar, an only son, lived with his family at Shiv Vihar in Karawal Nagar.

Angry locals and relatives of the victim vandalised the car after its driver fled the spot, leaving the vehicle behind. By the time the police arrived, all the windows of the car had been damaged. The vehicle has been taken into custody.

A case under sections 279 (rash driving) and 304A (causing death by negligence) was registered at Geeta Colony police station against the errant car driver, Ajay Sharma, 42. Since Sharma was arrested more than 12 hours after the accident, police said it could not be established that he was driving under the influence of alcohol.

Narrating the incident, Kumar’s sister Rajrani said, “Hemant was holding my hand and we were trying to cross the road, when the speeding car hit him and ran over his abdomen.”