BHUBANESWAR: In a tragic replay of the sensational BMW hit-and-run case in the National Capital Region, a drunk driver today mowed down a mother-son duo near Khandagiri before his vehicle jumped headlong from a culvert. The driver, also owner of the Scorpio, escaped with bleeding injuries. He is now charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder and rash driving.
The mishap occurred at about 8.45 p.m. when Bijay Parida was driving along the Kolathia-Jayadev Vatika Road near Khandagiri Square.
Police said the vehicle was moving at a high speed and Parida, who was under influence of alcohol, lost control near the curve of a culvert. The speeding vehicle jumped the footpath and hit the woman Rukmini Ojha (40) and her son Litu (15). Both were thrown to a distance and sustained serious head injuries and were taken to Capital Hospital where they succumbed.
Parida’s vehicle broke into the side walls of the culvert bridge and fell to a depth of six feet.
Following leakage of fuel, the vehicle caught fire but not before Parida had escaped. He has been slapped Section 279 and 304 of the IPC.
Rukmini was wife of Krushna Chandra Ojha, an employee with an electricity distribution company.
A few days back, another such negligent driving had hurt several persons in Unit V area.