Speeding SUV crushes 26-year old woman in Kolkata

A 26-year-old woman was killed near Kadapara Crossing on EM Bypass after being hit by an SUV. Gouri Dey, a mother of two, was crossing the road between 5.37am and 5.50am on Sunday. The impact was such that the woman, fell 80 metres away. The driver, Aritra Aditya (23), and his brother Arjun Aditya (20) could only run a short-distance towards Salt Lake stadium before they were assaulted by residents of Kadapara and Duttabad.

After the accident, locals from Duttabad and adjoining areas blocked the road for nearly 75 minutes till cops came and assured of action. 

The SUV hit the curbstone of a median divider and dragged along for around 6m before it turned westward (its rear side faced the Hyatt Regency). The front side got completely damaged with its airbags inflated. Forensic experts, who visited the spot, said the two passengers were not wearing seatbelts and the car had hit the woman at a speed of 85-95kmph or even more at the point of impact.

The cops, who reached the spot, rescued the two brothers and took them to CNMC Hospital but were finally admitted to the Apollo Hospital.

A joint team from Phoolbagan police, the fatal squad of Kolkata Police, and Beliaghata traffic guard, along with forensic experts, are probing the case. The analysis of CCTV footage and the account of another driver revealed the Adityas are three brothers, who reside at Vivekananda Road in Nagerbazar and run a business together. The brothers had left home early to go to south Kolkata. As they approached Kadapara crossing from Ultadanga side at high speed, the signal turned amber. A car on the right lane stopped but since they had crossed the stopline, Aritra pressed forward without slowing.

“Dey is a resident of Duttabad and her parental house is at Kadapara. On Sunday, she saw a car stop and did not bother to check if the signal had turned red. Instead of crossing close to the road median divider, she tried to cross midway right in the middle of the Salt Lake-bound road. We have reasons to believe that she slipped over at least once after impact before landing on the road 80m away,” said an investigating officer. Dey was later declared dead at the NRS Hospital.

Based on the recommendation from forensic experts, the police have slapped the culpable homicide not amounting to a murder case in the accident. “The speed of the car was almost 1.5 times the permissible limit. They were not wearing seatbelts and jumped the signal despite another vehicle stopping beside them. We will arrest them once they recover,” said an officer.
“We are looking at lodging an FIR if the victims lodge a complaint. We might also lodge a suo-motu case,” said officers probing the case.