Truck on wrong side crashes into car off Delhi-Jaipur highway, 3 die

Gurgaon: Three men in their early thirties died and one is battling grievous injuries after the car in which they were travelling crashed head on into a truck being driven on the wrong side of a service lane of Delhi-Jaipur highway a little after Friday midnight.
While Sikander (30), Babulal (35) and Sandeep (34) died before they could be taken to hospital, Vikram — who was driving the car — was wheeled into the emergency ward with critical injuries to the head, ribs and limbs.They were on their way home to Bhiwadi in a Hyundai Verna when the accident occurred near Sidhrawali village around 12.15am.
This is the second instance of a fatal accident caused by wrong-side driving in less than a week in the city. On Sept 15, a 21-year-old biker died after being hit by an SUV hurtling down the wrong side of Golf Course Road.
While Sikander ran a business of buying and selling cars, the three others with him were property dealers.
Sikandar's father Khemchand, who runs a grocery store in Bhiwadi, was following his son and friends in another car.
"We were returning home after some work in Gurgaon. We took the service lane below NH-8 flyover and were about to take the road to Bhiwadi when a truck appeared out of nowhere on the wrong side. Before Vikram could slam the brakes, the rashly driven truck had crashed into the car, which was mangled," he added.
Khemchand said he and a few other passersby tried to catch the truck driver, but he fled, leaving the vehicle behind.
A police team reached the accident spot and rushed the occupants of the Verna to hospital. While the three were declared dead on arrival, Vikram was admitted. Police said he was under observation.
"All of them were from Bhiwadi. They were on their way back home when they met with the fatal accident off NH-8. The truck was clearly being driven on the wrong side. We have seized the truck, which is registered in Rajasthan. But the driver is on the run. The truck was empty and may have been returning after delivering a consignment," said Yogesh Kataria, the Bilaspur SHO.
Kataria said police had sent a notice to the owner of the truck to visit the police station with documents of the vehicle and details about the driver.
The bodies of the three persons who died were handed to their families after an autopsy. A case was registered against the truck driver under sections 106 (death by negligence, rash act), 281 (rash driving endangering human life), and 324 (4) (mischief causing loss or damage to property up to Rs 20,000) of BNS and relevant provisions of the MV Act following a complaint by Khemchand.
"We have sent a notice to the truck owner to produce the driver and documents. After we question him about wrong-side driving, other provisions will be added to the FIR," another senior officer said.