Cruel twist of fate: College student dies in road accident, decade after father’s fatal crash

Ahmedabad: It was of deja vu for a Vejalpur family on Friday after a 20-year-old college student died in a road accident nearly a decade after her father was killed in a similar manner.

Kavya Pandya, a BSc IT student at Rai University, was crushed to death by a speeding dumper truck near Azadnagar bus stop on Sarkhej-Dholka Road on Friday afternoon. The dumper driver fled the spot after the accident.

According to police, the incident occurred around 12.45pm near New Fatewadi area under the jurisdiction of M Division traffic police. Kavya had left from Vejalpur on her scooter and was travelling towards Bakrol Circle from the Bharati Ashram side when the unidentified dumper allegedly rammed into her vehicle while being driven recklessly at high speed, said police.

The impact caused Kavya to lose balance and fall onto the road, where she was run over by the truck. She suffered severe injuries to her head, hands and legs and died on the spot before help could arrive.

What has made the tragedy even more heartbreaking for the family is that Kavya’s father, Sunil Pandya, had also died in a road accident around ten years ago. After his death, the family faced severe hardships, following which Kavya’s mother shifted with her children to her parental home in Vejalpur.

The FIR in the case was lodged by Kavya’s uncle, Devang Pandya. In his complaint, he stated that he received a call from his daughter informing him about the accident while he was at work. On reaching the spot, he found Kavya lying dead on the road.

M Division traffic police inspector U M Dhakhda said police teams are scanning CCTV footage from nearby areas and gathering local inputs to identify the dumper and trace the absconding driver.