HYDERABAD: In yet another accident on the newly-inaugurated flyover at the Biodiversity Complex junction near Gachibowli, a speeding car flew off the flyover and plunged to the road below, killing a woman bystander and injuring four others grievously, including the woman’s daughter and the car’s driver, on Saturday afternoon.
Road to be shut for three days
The flyover will now be shut for three days for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) to implement safety measures. This is being done on directions from Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister KT Rama Rao, who said an independent committee of experts will assess the safety measures needed on the flyover.
As per eyewitnesses and CCTV footage of the accident, the speeding car, unable to manoeuvre a turn on the flyover, rammed the parapet wall and flew over. It landed on the busy road beneath, bounced off, and crashed into a group of bystanders and parked autos. Four vehicles parked outside a nearby car showroom were also damaged.
As the car, a Volkswagen Polo crashed into the group of bystanders, it killed 40-year-old Pasala Naga Venkata Satyaveni, and injured her daughter, Praneetha, 23, who was standing beside her. They were waiting to catch an auto to go to a relative’s place in Kukatpally to search for rented accommodation.
An engineering student, K Kubra, who was also waiting to catch an auto to attend a job interview, and an auto driver named M Balu Naik also suffered injuries. Naik got stuck under a tree that got uprooted as the car struck it, and one of the car’s wheels flew off, hitting him hard. A few others received minor injuries.
A case has been registered against the car driver, Krishna Milan Rao Kalvakuntla, who has been hospitalised with serious injuries, said DCP Madhapur A Venkateswar Rao.
Though the speed limit on the flyover is 40 kmph, traffic police said the car was at 104 kmph. The driver’s blood samples will be sent for analysis though primary inquiries revealed that he was not under the influence of alcohol.
On November 10, a techie allegedly crashed into two vehicles on the flyover, and two persons taking selfies there, throwing them off the flyover and killing them. Since then, the police introduced a few measures to prevent accidents and installed cameras on the flyover.