Gurgaon: Crash that killed BPharm student ‘triggered by a car on wrong side’

GURGAON: A car being driven on the wrong side of the road triggered the fatal accident that ended with a truck crashing into a two-wheeler and killing BPharm student Neha near Vatika Chowk on Wednesday, eyewitnesses have said.

They told TOI on Thursday that Neha (22) was riding pillion and her grandfather Chandra Bhan (60) was driving the scooter on Southern Peripheral Road (SPR) when the car suddenly appeared in front of them.
Bhan had to slam the brakes, resulting in the scooter skidding. It threw both the riders onto the road, and in the path of the truck that ran over them. Neha, a Gurugram University student, died on the spot, and her grandfather was injured.
“A car was approaching from the wrong side and by the time the elderly man noticed it, it was too late. He pulled the brakes and the truck rammed into their scooter,” said Veeru Vatsalya, who has been running a tea stall on the road side for the past four years.
The truck driver, booked for death by negligence and rash driving among other sections, fled from the spot. He is absconding.
When asked, investigating officer Narender Kumar said cops will look into all angles.“We are yet to talk to the eyewitnesses in detail about the accident. The truck driver is still at large,” he said.
Last year, traffic police and district officials had listed Vatika Chowk among the 36 accident-prone blackspots, based on an assessment of fatal crashes in areas in Gurgaon.
Locals say wrong-side driving is common near the busy intersection that connects SPR and the Sohna Elevated Road (NH-248A).
The crash that claimed Neha’s life took place around 400 meters ahead of the Vatika Square on SPR as the pair was going home to Palra village. Both the riders were wearing helmets.
Currently, commuters on SPR going towards Badshapur have to take a U-turn that is around 200 metres from Vatika Chowk. This usually translates to a total distance of around 2.4 kilometres. Many commuters, locals allege, drive on the wrong side of the road to get to the intersection and cut their travel time by 10-15 minutes.
Traffic cops are actively working to check those violating traffic rules, IO Narender Kumar added.
There have been similar accidents in the city in recent months.
On October 30 last year, a speeding car driven on the wrong side of Sohna Road hit a two-wheeler, killing an 18-year-old college student. A 40-year-old domestic help riding a bicycle was killed when a car, allegedly being driven beyond the speed limit and on the wrong side of the road, lost balance and rammed another car before hitting the cyclist near Vatika Chowk on October 22.