GREATER NOIDA: Four men died and another sustained severe injuries after their Innova crashed into a parked UP Roadways bus on the Agra-Noida carriageway of Yamuna Expressway in the early hours of Saturday.
The accident occurred around one and a half kilometres before the zero point around 6.45am when Ashish Chauhan, Alok Kumar, Maninandan Maiken and Prince Pal — all bartenders employed with an event management company — were returning from a programme in Azamgarh in the hired SUV.
Police suspect the driver, Feroz, dozed off and failed to spot the bus that was parked on one side of the speedway.
While Ashish, Alok and Maninandan, all aged between 25 and 30 years, as well as Feroz died on the spot, 22-year-old Prince is battling for his life at a private hospital in Greater Noida. Ashish was from Ghaziabad, while Alok hailed from Faridabad and Maninandan Maharashtra’s Thane. Feroz belonged to Agra, while Prince is from Faridabad.
Aditya Kumar, a relative of Alok, told TOI that they came to know about the accident from the police and onlookers. “The driver might have dozed off due to the long journey and lost control of the Innova as it diverged towards the left side, crashing into the parked bus. Now only Prince can tell what exactly happened as the driver is no more. But Prince is currently in ICU.”
Police said the three deceased were taken to Yatharth hospital in Greater Noida, where they were declared brought dead, while Prince was taken to Kailash hospital, where he continues to be in serious condition. “No complaint has been lodged as we have not yet received any complaint against anyone in the case,” additional DCP (Greater Noida) Vishal Pandey said.