Joyride smash kills 4 students

CHENNAI: Four students of a private engineering college in the suburbs died after their car smashed into a parked container truck at Madhavaram on Friday. The four youths, who were barely out of their teens, were classmates at SRM College of Engineering in Kattankulathur.
Police have identified the victims as Ankur Verma (20) of Lucknow, Aditya Gupta (20) of Howrah, Anugama Pani (20) of Ujjain and Mayank Guptha (20) of Delhi.
The crash happened around 6am on Friday while they were speeding to Manali, the police said.
Police suspect that the early morning mist could have blurred the driver's vision, leading to the crash. A witness said the driver veered out of control while trying to avoid a cyclist who came in their way. The Hyundai Santro was mangled into a heap of scrap in the smash-up. The bonnet was ripped off and lay crumpled on the road, the four doors were torn apart and was hanging from the hinges, and the roof was pummelled into unruly pleats.
The Delhi-registered car belonged to Mayank Gupta and he was behind the wheels at the time of the accident, the police said. Inquiry with classmates and friends drew a blank on the night outing, police said. "They were probably confused about the route and were going around in circles when the accident occurred," a senior police officer said.
The bodies were moved to Stanley Hospital for post-mortem examination.
R Lokesh, a shop keeper who witnessed the accident, said, "I was on my way to open the shop when I saw the car crash into the container lorry. The scene was gory. I immediately alerted the police."
Police have informed the families of the victims. Anugama Pani and Ankur Verma's families arrived in the city on Friday evening.