Gujarat: 9 killed, 20 injured as luxury car ploughs into crowd  

In a horrific incident, nine people were killed and over 20 grievously injured when a speeding luxury car ploughed into a crowd gathered at an accident site on a bridge in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad city on Thursday (July 20), police said.

The accident occurred on the ISKCON Bridge on the Sarkhej-Gandhinagar highway in the Satellite area of the city.

Sources told The Federal that the driver of the luxury car, a Jaguar, has been identified as Tathya Patel, the son of Pragnesh Patel, a builder, accused of raping a woman in a car.

Sources said an irate mob thrashed the driver at the spot. He was later rushed to the hospital. He was allegedly driving the car at a speed of 186 kmph.

A 22-second video of the incident, captured by a bike helmet camera, shows the over-speeding Jaguar crashing into a crowd of people gathered on the highway where an accident had happened earlier.

A constable and a Home Guard jawan, who had reached the spot after the first accident of a collision involving two vehicles, were among the eight people who were killed on the spot, police said.

Also read: Road accidents claim 1.5 million lives in India annually: FICCI-EY report

“At around 1 am, a Thar (SUV) collided with a truck at ISKCON Bridge on SG Highway. After receiving information about the accident, local traffic police and a Home Guard jawan reached the spot to manage the traffic and handle the situation. Out of curiosity, several bystanders also gathered at the spot to check what had happened,” Satellite police station inspector KY Vyas said.

“When they were on the bridge, a speeding Jaguar car rammed into the crowd, killing five persons on the spot, while four persons died during treatment. The deceased included a constable and a Home Guard jawan. Nearly 10 persons who received injuries were admitted to different hospitals,” he said earlier.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Traffic, Neeta Desai said an FIR has been registered in this connection and the police would try their best to ensure the kin of the victims get justice.

Also read: 7 killed in Andhra Pradesh road accident, several other sustain injuries

Most of the deceased and injured youth belonged to other cities and were living in Ahmedabad as paying guests, as per sources. After learning about the first accident, they went on the bridge out of curiosity. Minutes later, the speeding car came from Karnavati Club side and ran over the crowd, they said.

The parents and other family members of the deceased reached the Sola Civil Hospital and demanded the harshest punishment for the accused.

The crossroads under the ISKCON bridge is a popular hangout spot for youngsters during night hours, as they gather there to have tea and snacks. Many people wanting to travel to other towns and cities also gather at the ISKCON crossroads to catch buses or private vehicles.

‘Road turned red with blood’

Recounting the ghastly accident, Altamash Qureshi, a survivor, said the car was moving at an “extremely” high speed.

“My friends and I went on the bridge after a Thar (SUV) met with an accident. Suddenly, a car came from behind and hit all of us. The speed of the car was extremely high. It ploughed into the crowd,” said Qureshi, who is being treated at Sola Civil Hospital.

After being hit by the Jaguar car, some of the victims were flung into the air and landed nearly 25 to 30 feet away. The stretch of the road turned red due to the spilled blood. The impact was such that the front portion of the car as well as its windscreen got completely damaged.

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel expressed grief over the incident and announced a compensation of ₹4 lakh for the kin of the deceased and ₹50,000 for the injured.

(With inputs from agencies)