Three of family die in crash on Del-Mum eway as car rams into divider and overturns

Gurgaon: A couple and their five-year-old son died after their car crashed and overturned on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway near Nuh early on Sunday. Their older son (8), who was also in the car and sustained injuries, is undergoing treatment at a private hospital, police said.A police officer privy to the probe said the exact cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained. "Prima facie, there could be multiple reasons. The front tyre on the right side of the car was flat when we found it but it is not clear whether the tyre burst led to the crash or if it burst due to the impact. Another possibility is that the husband, who was driving the car, may have dozed off," he said.
The deceased have been identified as Naveen Soni (40), his wife, Madhuri (38), and their younger son, Vihansh (5), natives of Nainwa in Rajasthan's Bundi district. The family lived in Gurgaon, where Naveen was employed with Indian Bank. Some family members of the deceased claimed to have spoken to the injured child, Krishna, who allegedly said a stray dog had suddenly come in front of the vehicle, forcing his father to swerve hard to avoid hitting it. According to police, the accident occurred around 2 km before the Hilalpur toll plaza under the Rojka Meo police station between 2 - 2.30am. The family was returning to Gurgaon after attending a wedding in Jaipur on Feb 19.Investigators said the car first veered towards the driver's side and hit a jersey barrier. The vehicle then overturned over the crash barrier, entered the median space, and struck another barrier at nearly a 90 angle. "The car appears to have travelled nearly 20 to 30 metres inside the median after the initial impact," the officer said.A police team reached the site around 2.45am. By then, an emergency response vehicle and the highway patrol team had already arrived and shifted the victims to a nearby hospital. Doctors declared Madhuri and Vihansh dead on arrival. Naveen and Krishna were referred to a private hospital, where the former succumbed to his injuries on Monday. His post-mortem examination was conducted on Tuesday. Police said inquest proceedings have been initiated, and further investigation is underway to ascertain the sequence of events leading to the crash.