BENGALURU: The speed at which the Skoda Laura car was recklessly driven was such that even after the vehicle fell on to the service road from the elevated expressway, it dragged on for about 500 metres before coming to a halt, in the early hours of Wednesday.
Yelahanka traffic police on Thursday recorded the statement of Varun Jain, (31) who drove his car in a reckless manner on the Bellary Road resulting in the vehicle plunging from the flyover. Jain, along with two women, were critically injured when their car plunged 15 feet after crashing through the road median, jumping on to the opposite lane and then crashing through the parapet near Raithara Santhe junction in Yelahanka early on Wednesday. But police feel the three are not willing to give proper statements.
A senior police officer said Varun, a resident of Lavelle Road, Rachita Reddy (23) and her sister Chaitra Reddy (25), of Benson Town, are recovering in a private hospital. “They are not co-operating in the investigation, and their families are insisting that they do not wish for a police investigation as the accident did not involve or harm anyone else. But we have filed a case against him (Varun) and once he recovers, we will arrest him on charges of violating traffic rules,” the official said.
Varun is into food production business and he is said to have gone to Kempegowda International Airport to pick up his father Prashanth Jain, who returned from a trip abroad in the early morning. But Prashanth hired an Ola cab to reach home before Varun reached the airport. The accident occurred around 4 am and was recorded on CCTV installed at an automobile showroom. Medical reports, however, indicated that Varun was not under the influence of alcohol.
Lokesh, a security guard who witnessed the incident, said the impact was such that the vehicle’s engine came off its mounting. “I heard a loud noise while I was sleeping and came out from the automobile showroom to see what had happened. Fortunately, there was no vehicle movement on the flyover and on the service road at that time. Otherwise the number of casualties could have been higher,” he said.
A few cab drivers who were passing by pulled out the injured trio and shifted them to a nearby private hospital.
THE BIG CRASH
A recklessly driven car fell off the elevated expressway early on wednesday, leaving the three occupants of the vehicle badly injured