UP: 4 dead as speeding BMW chasing 300km/h crashes fatally
What's the story
The "need for speed" of a doctor, an engineer, and two of their friends ended when the BMW car they were traveling in collided head-on with a truck approaching from the opposite direction at Sultanpur on Purvanchal Expressway in Uttar Pradesh on Friday. They were reportedly speeding at 230km/h while doing a Facebook Live session when others egged the driver on to touch 300km/h.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Road accidents are a major cause of concern, resulting in lakhs of deaths every year in India. Notably, overspeeding accounts for nearly 60% of the total accidents, per NCRB data (2021). In September, former Tata Sons chairman and industrialist Cyrus Mistry died in a car accident near Mumbai. The car, being driven by Mistry's friend, was reportedly speeding at over 100kmph seconds before crashing.
Information
Omen proved to be true
A video of the incident recorded by one of the deceased passengers has gone viral. In it, one of the four passengers could be heard jokingly saying, "All four of us are going to die." The foreboding proved to be true minutes later as the driver—Dr. Anand Prakash (35)—a professor at a Rohtas medical college, is seen trying to further speed up the car.
Twitter Post
The other lane was closed with no warning signs
UP | Four people have lost their lives in an accident that took place on Purvanchal Expressway in Sultanpur dist. A high-speed BMW car collided with a container coming from the opposite direction. The deceased were residents of Uttarakhand: Ravish Kumar Gupta, DM Sultanpur pic.twitter.com/1Sv08SnG0z
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) October 14, 2022
Twitter Post
Speed junkies wrote their own death script
The deceased victims of #Bihar had gone Facebook Live while crusing at 230 kmph before their #BMW crashed into the truck on Purvanchal express yesterday in Sultanpur district #UttarPradesh #RoadAccident https://t.co/0R1v644Rtd pic.twitter.com/MYISNCMKLq
— Arvind Chauhan (@Arv_Ind_Chauhan) October 15, 2022
Details
All four hailed from Bihar, were headed to Delhi
The other victims were identified as engineer Deepak Kumar, realtor Akhilesh Singh, and businessman Mukesh. They hailed from Bihar and were headed to Delhi. The driver of the truck involved in the accident is on the run, and a case was filed. Sultanpur SP Somen Barma said a technical inspection of the mangled car and truck would be conducted with the forensic laboratory's assictance.
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Twitterati questioned booking the truck driver
The container driver has been charged causing death by negligence, then the BMW wanted to touch 300 KMPH. Infact the container driver should be compensated for the traumatic experience.
— Incognito Moist (@prafullsaraf) October 17, 2022