New Delhi: A 20-year-old student, the son of an Indian Army officer, died after the car he was driving skidded on a slippery road, overturned, and fell into an open drain near the Nangal Dewat traffic signal in southwest Delhi’s Vasant Kunj early on Friday morning.
The deceased has been identified as Yashvendra. He was pursuing higher education in the United States and had recently returned to India on a break. His father is an Army officer currently posted in Kolkata. Yashvendra was staying with a friend in the Delhi Cantonment area at the time of the incident.
According to police, the accident occurred around 6 am on July 24. Yashvendra was driving a car belonging to a female friend, who was travelling with him in the front passenger seat. The two, who study at the same educational institution in the US and became friends there, had spent the previous night at a friend’s house. They were heading towards the woman’s residence in Vasant Kunj when the mishap took place.
While negotiating a sharp turn near the Nangal Dewat red light, the car allegedly lost control on the wet and muddy road surface caused by recent rain. Preliminary findings indicate the vehicle may have struck a tree before overturning and plunging into the uncovered drain. The car was found turned on its roof inside the drain by a team from Vasant Kunj South police station after a PCR call was received.
Yashvendra sustained serious injuries and remained trapped as the roof of the vehicle had caved in. Rescue teams pulled him out and rushed him for medical treatment, where he succumbed to his injuries. The female passenger managed to open her side door and escape with minor injuries. In her statement to police, she attributed the accident to the slippery condition of the road.
Police said the drain lacked a protective cover or safety barrier. Further investigation is underway, including examination of CCTV footage from the area, to determine the exact sequence of events and whether any other factors, such as speed, contributed to the crash. Necessary legal proceedings have been initiated.
The incident has once again highlighted concerns over open drains and road safety in parts of Delhi during the monsoon season.
