On her birthday, woman dies as Land Cruiser crashes into pole

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 26

A 26-year-old woman, who had got married around 10 months ago, was killed while five others, including her husband, were injured after the overspeeding Toyota Land Cruiser they were riding in rammed into a signboard pole on the road separating Sector 9 and 10 on the intervening night of February 25 and 26. The SUV turned turtle after hitting the pole. They were coming back from a hotel after celebrating the woman’s birthday.

The victim has been identified as Shrishti Goyal, while the injured have been identified as Shrishti’s husband Raghav Goyal, Mudit Gupta, his wife Aru Gupta, Kunal and Abhishek. The SUV was being driven by Kunal.

The police said both couples, natives of Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, and Kunal, a native of Panipat, had gone to Shimla for sightseeing. On returning, they stopped at Abhishek’s house in Sector 21, Panchkula.

After having dinner at the house, all of them decided to celebrate Shrishti’s birthday by cutting a cake for which they went to Hotel Mountview in Sector 10, Chandigarh.

The police said the victims left the hotel and Kunal drove towards DAV College, from where they came to Madhya Marg. On reaching Matka Chowk, they took a left turn on the road separating Sector 10 and 9. However, the SUV went out of control and rammed into the pole.

The police said the SUV was being driven rashly following which it turned turtle after hitting the pole. All airbags of the SUV got inflated following the accident.

The right side of the SUV was wrecked and its right front wheel also got separated from the vehicle.

The police got information about the accident at 1.51 am, following which PCR vehicles rushed to the spot. Shrishti, who was seriously injured, was taken to the PGI, where doctors declared her brought dead. The remaining five were admitted to Government Multi-Specialty Hospital, Sector 16, and later discharged.

The SUV belongs to Kunal, whose father is a businessman, who owns a pharmaceutical company.

The police said Shrishti had got married around 10 months ago. Her body has been shifted to the mortuary and the autopsy will be conducted tomorrow. The police have registered a case against Kunal at the Sector 3 police station. He was arrested and later released on bail.

Second such mishap in month

Earlier this month, a 30-year-old judicial magistrate had died, while his friend was injured after their SUV rammed into a signboard pole on the road separating Sector 16 and 23.

‘No smell of alcohol’

The police claimed that during the medical examination of the driver, the doctor wrote ‘no smell of alcohol’.