2 die after truck topples on car

NEW DELHI: Two women died and a third was severely injured when a truck overloaded with furniture toppled on two cars on Ring Road at Punjabi Bagh in west Delhi on Thursday morning. The truck driver lost control of the vehicle when he swerved to avoid hitting a woman crossing the road. The woman, however, was crushed against the road divider.

The two cars, a Honda Amaze and a

Maruti Alto

, had to be cut open to rescue the trapped passengers. The victims were rushed to a local hospital where the pedestrian, Rama Devi (54), and an occupant of the

car

, Moorti Devi, were declared dead on arrival.

Moorti’s granddaughter, Tripti Garg, who was driving the Amaze, is in a critical condition. The occupants of the Alto and Tripti’s friend, Shubham Mitra, escaped with minor injuries.

The incident occurred around 6.50am when Garg was driving Moorti and Mitra to a Gurgaon hospital to meet a relative.

Police said that the truck (HR 61 C 2123) first hit the divider crushing Rama Devi and then toppled to its left. Tripti’s car, which was crossing at that time, got crushed under the truck.

Moorti, who was sitting on the rear seat, suffered severe injuries as the car roof collapsed on her head. Tripti sustained head injuries. The occupants of the Alto were saved as their car came to rest on the chassis between the wheels of the truck.

The truck driver is on the run and the police have detained the owner of the vehicle.

“No CCTV footage was recovered from the area. We are questioning the truck owner,” said DCP (west) Vijay Kumar.

A case for causing death due to negligence (IPC Section 304A) and reckless driving (Section 279) has been registered against the driver.

Eyewitnesses told the police that grilles have been installed on the road divider to prevent pedestrians from crossing over, but a small portion has been cut out by miscreants.

Minor accidents are often reported on the stretch due to pedestrians trying to cross the road through the cut. Moreover, illegally parked vehicles encroach a carriageway and the footpath. A proposal to construct a foot overbridge is still pending with the government.

A major traffic jam ensued on Ring Road for nearly five hours till the police towed away the mangled remains of the cars and the truck.