In a grim reminder of the Kherwadi drunk driving case that claimed the life of a young girl late last year, a Hyundai Getz carrying six youngsters crashed into a tree and turned turtle after its driver, who was drunk, lost control in Juhu in the early hours of Saturday morning.
One of its occupants — an 18-year-old Class 12 student — died on Saturday morning, while one more is critical. The driver has been arrested.
According to eyewitnesses, the incident occurred at around 2 am near SNDT College in Juhu on Saturday. The Hyundai Getz, which was driving at a high speed, attempted to overtake another car in front of it from the left, but lost control and hurtled towards a tree. It then swerved hard, turned around and its rear end crashed into the tree.
“The Hyundai Getz, which bounced back, hit the divider and came to rest after hitting an autorickshaw parked by the side of the road. The three girls in the back seat got the worst of the accident. All three were bleeding heavily when they were extracted from the car and were rushed to Cooper Hospital,” said Ramprasad Bansi, a resident of the area, who helped with the rescue efforts.
Meanwhile, a team of policemen reached the spot to conduct inquiries, and later visited the hospital. The occupants of the car were identified as Shivani Rawat (18), Priyanka Rai (20), Nimisha Mane (19), Rahul Mishra (23), Krishnamani Thevar (23) and Amit Gupta (23). “Further inquires established that the group had visited a nightclub in Juhu and had left at around 1.30 am. Mishra who was driving the car had consumed alcohol. Shivani succumbed to her injuries while under treatment,” said Pratap Dighavkar, deputy commissioner of police, Zone 9.
Mishra was arrested after being released from the hospital on Saturday.