Arjun was not racing: Father

KOLKATA, Mar 12: Arjun Atwal's father on Monday claimed that the golfing ace was not involved in any high-speed street race in Orlando, USA, and did not know the person who died in the mishap on Saturday.
Harminder Atwal said that he had spoken to his son after the accident. "He is a trifle nervous, but otherwise he is OK."
Reports from the US have said that Atwal could be charged with being involved in a high-speed street race after he escaped unharmed from the mishap that killed another driver on highway SR 535 in Orlando, Florida.
Atwal senior, however, said the police only recorded a preliminary statement from Arjun and did not have any plans to proceed on the matter.
"As Arjun was an eye-witness, the police recorded his statement. And that was the end of the matter. It is wrong to say that he faces high speed driving charges," he said.
Narrating the sequence of events he gathered from his son, Harminder said Arjun was returning home after the day's practice when he saw through the rear view mirror a car chasing him at great speed.
"As it was coming at a very high speed, Arjun apprehended that the car will hit his vehicle and he also speeded up a little bit. But the person driving the other car may have thought that he wanted to race and speeded up further.
"Arjun had to turn left and so he went to the left of the divider. But the other person apparently did not know the area and tried to overtake him from the wrong side. He hit a bend and lost control.
"Arjun saw the car hit a tree. He applied the brakes and his car went into a spin," he said. Arjun got out of the car, rushed to the driver of the other vehicle, later identified as John Noah Park, and himself informed the police, his father said.
Park later died in hospital.
Thirtythree-year-old Arjun Atwal, the first Indian to play on the US PGA Tour, has already condoled Park's death.
Police have stated that neither drugs nor alcohol were involved in the accident and Atwal had not been charged in the case yet.
Florida Highaway Patrol trooper Kim Miller was quoted in the media on Sunday as saying 'At a minimum he is facing a charge of engaging in a street race. We have to see if this crash rises to the level of any other charges.'
Miller said according to eyewitnesses the cars were speeding at about 160 kph but did not collide. The investigation would take two months to be completed, he said.