Honda City accident: Fourth student dies day after car falls off Delhi flyover

Another student injured in the Honda City accident in west Delhi’s Punjabi Bagh died on Tuesday during treatment. This is the fourth death in the shocking car crash.

Twenty-year-old Garima was one of the seven students going to Narela in a Honda City car to write an exam when it crashed into a divider and toppled off a flyover on Monday. Two students succumbed to injuries before they could reach the hospital and another occupant breathed his last later in the evening.

“Garima died at AIIMS trauma centre on Tuesday morning. Two others, Rishabh and Raja, continue to remain critical,” Vijay Kumar, DCP (West), told HT. The seventh occupant, Pranav, is out of danger he continues to be under observation at BLK Hospital in Rajendra Nagar in Delhi.

Earlier on Monday, Ritu Singh and Sanchit Chhabra had died on the spot after the car broke through cement railings and an iron fence to fall almost 30 feet below, just next to railway tracks. Rajat, who was driving the car, passed away later in the day.

According to the police, Ritu and Garima were occupying the single seat next to the driver’s while four men were in the back seat.

The police have registered a case of causing death by negligence, rash driving and causing hurt by negligent act. A tyre burst is suspected to have led to the accident.

Though the locals had arrived soon after the accident and tried to rescue the seven occupants, police said it took them more than 15 minutes to pull the students out as the car ‘s roof and doors had been crushed. Police said Ritu and Sanchit, who died before they could be given medical help, sustained serious head injuries and died due to excessive bleeding. Report of their postmortem examination is awaited.

All the seven students were pursuing BBA. They were on their way to write an exam in Narela. Police later found their books, identity cards and admit cards for the exam in the mangled car.

Later in the day, families of Ritu and Sanchit donated their eyes to an NGO. Sanchit’s father Raj Kumar Chhabra said his son was a helpful person and he would be there for others even in his death. “My son is gone, but at least two other people will be able to see the world through his eyes. Just thinking of this possibility makes me feel better,” he said.

Ritu’s father, Malkhan Singh, too agreed to donate her daughter’s eyes without a second thought. “The NGO has invited me to meet the two persons who will receive Ritu’s eyes. My daughter will live in those two persons forever. I will meet them and stay in touch with them my entire life,” said her father fighting back tears.

The police said the students could have had a different fate if they were more careful about traffic rules. While seven people were travelling in a car meant for five, police said it was highly “unlikely” that those in the back seat had their seat belts on.