Birthday ride turns fatal: Noida student killed, friend critical after speeding truck rams scooty; driver arrested

NEW DELHI: A 19-year-old student was killed and his friend was critically injured after their scooty was hit by a truck near Modi Mill flyover on Mathura Road in southeast Delhi in the early hours of Friday.

Police received a call around midnight regarding an unconscious person lying on the Sarita Vihar-bound carriageway. A team from the New Friends Colony police station reached the spot and found that the accident took place between 12am and 1am. A scooty bearing a Delhi registration number was allegedly hit by a truck bearing a Rajasthan number that was heading towards Badarpur.

"The truck, loaded with grocery items and being driven at high speed, was travelling from Badli to Nagpur," a senior police officer said.


"No cleaner/helper was present in the vehicle," the officer added.

The deceased has been identified as Manav (19), was studying at a private university in Noida and was a resident of Sarai Julena. Mohammad Saad (21), a BCom student at Jamia Millia Islamia, and a resident of Gaffar Manzil in Jamia Nagar, is in critical condition. The two friends were on their way to celebrate Manav's birthday when the incident occurred.

The scooty is registered in the name of his father, police said.

The accused truck driver, Jahul (32), a resident of Nuh in Haryana, has been arrested. He has been working for the truck owner, identified as Rashid, for the past two years. The driver has claimed that he possesses a valid driving licence and that the vehicle is insured; both the documents are under verification. A crime team inspected the scene and collected evidence.

Data from Delhi Police last year showed the growing menace of truck accidents. In the first seven months, heavy vehicles were involved in 82 fatal crashes that killed 85 people and injured 187, compared with 87 fatal accidents claiming 89 lives in the same period a year earlier. Traffic violations by heavy vehicles also rose sharply by 46%, with challans jumping from 17,776 to 26,025, driven largely by cases of improper parking and no-entry violations, pointing to persistent safety concerns around truck movement on city roads.

A case has been registered and further probe to ascertain the exact sequence of events is under way.