Two college students die in car accident at Assagao

Mapusa: Tragedy struck a group of college students returning from a nightclub early on Sunday morning, when the car they were travelling in rammed into a compound wall in Assagao, leaving two of them dead, including one whose birthday they had just celebrated.

The car's occupants — Ethan Viegas of Porvorim, Lee Ann Rocha of Calangute, Lioney Pereira of Ribandar and Zahid Shaikh of Mapusa — were SYBA students of a Mapusa-based college. Police said that the occupants were in the age group of 19-21 years.

Police also said that Viegas was driving and Shaikh was on the front passenger seat. At Assagao, he lost control of the car and hit the compound wall of a house. The impact was such that both gate and car were fully damaged; parts of the car were scattered along the road.

The occupants were then rushed by ambulance to the North Goa district hospital, where doctors declared Viegas dead. Shaikh and Rocha, who sustained grievous injuries, were shifted to Goa medical college and hospital at Bambolim, where Rocha succumbed to her injuries. As of Sunday evening, police said Shaikh was undergoing treatment, while Pereira was discharged.

Police sources told TOI that the car was heading toward the Assagao-Anjuna road to collect Viegas' bike.

Anjuna police conducted panchanama and registered a case.