BERHAMPUR: In a shocking incident, a cyclist was dragged by a car for half-a-km after the inebriated driver tried to flee following an accident near Gurunthi on NH-16 under Khallikote police limits on Sunday evening.
The cyclist’s hand was stuck to the car mirror as its driver kept speeding away. The victim, identified as A Laxmana Patra, was declared dead at a hospital later.
Patra, 52, a native of Gurapalli village, was returning home when the speeding car hit him. The collision was so severe that Patra was thrown on to the car bonnet while his cycle fell to a distance of over 20 feet. While the cyclist remained stuck on the bonnet, the car driver did not stop though locals kept signaling him to halt. Some locals then chased down the car at Gurapalli toll gate.
Khallikote police, led by inspector in-charge Naresh Sahu, reached the toll gate and rushed Patra to the hospital but doctors declared him dead.
Police also seized the car and detained its driver-cum-owner Manoj Tripathy, a resident of Srikrushnasaranpur. He was sent for medical examination and found to be under the influence of alcohol.
Tripathy has been produced before a court on the day.