Patna: A 25-year-old man was killed and four others injured after a sports utility vehicle crashed into a stationary pickup truck in the early hours of Monday in Patna, police said.
The accident occurred around 3am on Atal Path, near the Gandhi Maidan traffic police station, when a Scorpio travelling at high speed rammed into a pickup truck that had been parked on the roadside after suffering a punctured tyre. The impact was severe, leaving both vehicles extensively damaged and scattering sacks of animal feed across the road.
The deceased was identified as Aditya Kumar, the son of Pradeep Kumar, a petrol pump owner from Mithapur. Police said the Scorpio, which was registered in his father’s name and had been purchased recently, was being driven by Aditya as he returned from a party in Sonpur with three friends.
According to officers investigating the crash, all the airbags in the Scorpio deployed except the one on the driver’s side. They said this may have contributed to the fatal injuries sustained by Aditya, while the other occupants suffered only minor injuries. The three passengers reportedly fled the scene after the collision, and police are searching for them.
The pickup truck driver, Ramsevak, 50, who was transporting animal feed from Chhapra to a flour mill in Shivpuri Chitkohra, sustained serious injuries. He suffered a fractured leg and required 15 stitches, and is currently undergoing treatment.
“I had parked the truck on the bridge because of a flat tyre and was fixing it when the Scorpio came from behind and hit the vehicle with force,” Ramsevak told police.
Both vehicles have been seized as part of the investigation. A BJP flag was found on the Scorpio, which police said reflected the political affiliation of the deceased’s family. The family declined to allow a postmortem examination, officials said.
Police said inquiries were continuing to establish the exact circumstances of the crash, including the speed of the vehicle and the sequence of events leading up to the collision.
