9 of Ghaziabad family die as car rams into truck

GHAZIABAD: An eight-seater vehicle carrying a family of 14 ploughed into a stationary truck at high speed in Hapur district of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday morning after the driver is suspected to have lost control of the steering, killing nine of them. Among the victims were four women and three children, one of them just seven months old and the other a year-and-a-half. Two other children were admitted to a nearby hospital with serious injuries.
Police believe the man at the vehicle’s wheel, 35-year-old Harveer who was among the victims, had dozed off, leading to the accident that took place around 5am. The family, based in Ghaziabad’s Babu Colony, was on its way back after a puja at Garh Mukteshwar temple in the adjoining district of Hapur. The accident spot was in Pilkhuwa, which is also in Hapur. district
“Late on Tuesday, the family had left the city for Garh Mukteshwar. On the way back, the driver lost control and the car rammed a stationary truck. The accident took place near Chijarsi police post,” said a police officer.
Passersby extracted the survivors from the heap of mangled metal that the car was reduced to after the collision. Eyewitnesses said all nine victims died on the spot. The car, according to police, was being driven by Harveer (35). Its other occupants were Harveer’s wife Sheila, his children Sandhya (7), Chanchal (6) and Lavi (seven months), nephews Vaibhav (3) and Yash (5), sister Geeta (50) and her husband Mukesh (55), Geeta’s daughter Rinki (25), son-in-law Vijay (28), grandson Gaurav (1), Geeta’s younger daughter Priyanka (28) and Priyanka’s son Chahat (one and half years old).
Police said Vijay, Vaibhav, Yash, Sandhya and Gaurav survived the accident. Doctors treating them said Vijay and Vaibhav are critical.
“It appeared the car was speeding,” said Pradeep Kumar, an eyewitness.
After the accident, the truck driver fled from the spot. “The bodies have been sent for post mortem and further investigation is on to establish the case. Prima facie, it appears the car was speeding and the driver lost control over the vehicle,” the police officer said.
Geeta and her family lived in Nagloi area while Harveer and his family lived in Babu Colony. Harveer is survived by his 90-year-old mother Vimla Devi.