Rash driving proved fatal for an engineering student who rammed the car he was driving into the median on the busy Banjara Hills stretch on Tuesday afternoon.
Nineteen-year-old Fasahat Ali, student of Muffakhamjah College of Engineering and Technology, along with two of his friends from the same institute, had food at a restaurant on Banjara Hills Road Number 3 and was returning to their college when the accident occurred. Fasahat Ali lost control of the vehicle and hit the median at a high speed, resulting in severe head injuries to him and killing him on the spot.
CCTV footage recorded from cameras nearby show that the hatchback hit the median after swerving to extreme right of the lane, in an attempt to overtake an auto. The inward left-bending curve on the road, it appears, prevented the speeding car from regaining balance.
After it hit the divider, the car somersaulted a few times before coming to a halt on the other side of the road. Traffic on the opposite side came to a screeching halt as vehicle-riders applied the brake to avoid being hit by the vehicle hurtling towards them. The accident caused traffic slowdown on the busy stretch for more than an hour after the accident as onlookers slowed down to take a look.
A police official inquiring into the incident said other persons in the car survived as they did not suffer injuries above the waist. “The driver’s head hit the median, causing fatal injuries. One student suffered a fracture to his hand while another escaped unhurt,” the official said.
Initial inquiries did not suggest that Fasahat Ali was driving under the influence of alcohol. Ali’s father told cops that his son had a driver’s licence. The vehicle is registered in the father’s name.
“ We have registered a case of negligent and rash driving against the driver, though he is dead. We are trying to ascertain if he had a valid licence,” Banjara Hills ACP M. Murali said.