An elderly person was killed in north Goa on Monday after a renter Thar SUV carrying a group of young tourists rammed into his vehicle at a crossroad junction at Assagao, police said.
The deceased, identified as Bhagat Sharma, 65, was a resident of Bhopal and was on a holiday in Goa. The victim was driving a Hyundai i20 when the Thar, which was allegedly speeding, rammed into him, leaving him severely injured.
According to eyewitnesses, while Sharma remained conscious in the aftermath of the accident, he suffered serious injuries. He was shifted to a hospital in a private ambulance after the emergency response ambulance service allegedly took more than an hour to arrive. Sharma was travelling in the car with another woman and a five-year-old child, both of whom survived the crash with the latter emerging unscathed.
{{/usCountry}}According to eyewitnesses, while Sharma remained conscious in the aftermath of the accident, he suffered serious injuries. He was shifted to a hospital in a private ambulance after the emergency response ambulance service allegedly took more than an hour to arrive. Sharma was travelling in the car with another woman and a five-year-old child, both of whom survived the crash with the latter emerging unscathed.
{{/usCountry}}“There was a woman driving the Thar, the vehicle was speeding and it crashed into the white hatchback. I helped the victims from the vehicle. There was an elderly man who was severely injured, especially on the head and skull. The other occupant was injured too, but the baby was fine, Myron Fernandes, a local resident and eyewitness, said.
The local resident further added, "After about an hour they were taken to hospital in a private ambulance, and about 15 minutes after they left, the government ambulance arrived.”
Fernandes said that at the time of the accident the Thar was being driven by a woman. However, immediately after the crash, the woman shifted and sat in the passenger seat, in an alleged attempt to escape accountability. “The male member of the group went and sat in the driver’s seat following the crash,” he said.
“The police have registered a case of rash and negligent driving against the driver of the rented jeep. The vehicle has been seized, and further investigation is underway to ascertain the exact sequence of events leading to the collision,” a police officer, who declined to be named, said.