BENGALURU: A birthday celebration turned tragic for a 23-year-old bank employee and his 18-year-old cousin as both lost their lives after ramming their speeding KTM duke sports bike into a median which separates the road from the service road at Chikkabanasawadi near Ramamurthynagar on Saturday afternoon. The deceased has been identified as Alwin and his cousin Edwin, who was a PU student in a private college. They were residents of Kasthurinagar in Vijinapura.
KR Puram traffic police have filed a case of negligence against the rider. However, the victims’ parents said the rider Edwin lost control over the two-wheeler as there were jelly stones strewn on the side of the road.
A senior police officer said Edwin had taken birthday boy Alwin to a nearby bakery to buy a cake at 1.45 pm. When they were returning, Edwin tried to overtake another vehicle but crashed into the road median. Both of them fell on the footpath and sustained severe head injuries as they were not wearing helmets. They were rushed to a hospital where they were declared brought dead.
The rider was said to be speeding. Just before the accident, the cousins had taken a selfie. The bodies have been shifted to Bowring Hospital for autopsy. Preliminary investigation revealed that Alwin had joined a bank just a week back, and Edwin had borrowed the bike from one of their relatives. Police have recorded the statements of locals and are investigating.
Arogyanathan, a relative of the victims, said, “Jelly stones were strewn on the side of the road which made the bike skid. It was not overspeeding as the police say. The stones should have been removed. They did not notice it and it led to the bike crash.”