Student killed, friend hurt as car rams scooter in Mohali

One 17-year-old died and another is battling for life at PGIMER after they met with an accident on Friday afternoon. Two others injured in the accident are stated to be stable.

The three 17-year-olds were riding without helmets when a speeding car hit their scooter at the Kumbra light point, near Sector 62, on Friday afternoon.

Driver of the car, Mandeep Singh, a resident of Phase 3A, was also injured, but a six-year-old boy with him, miraculously, escaped unhurt.
Eyewitness accounts of the accident, which took place at the Sector 62-61-70-69 lightpoint in the afternoon, varied but both vehicles were driving at high speed. They sped on when the lights were about to change and one of the vehicles definitely jumped the red light.

The deceased has been identified as Harvinder Singh alias Harman alias Harry of Kandala village, who owned the scooter.

He was declared brought dead at PGIMER. The others were Avtar Singh, also of Kandala, and Manjit Singh ‘Joga’, a resident of Kumbra, who drove the scooter.

All three were students at Government Senior Secondary School in Phase 3B1. Manjit was a Class XII student, while the other two studied in Class XI. All wore school uniform and were heading home from school when the incident took place.

The collision left the scooter mangled. The car dragged the scooter for some distance, then flipped over and turned turtle. Before the police could reach the spot, passersby rushed the injured to the nearby Fortis Hospital.

Fortis Hospital authorities said that Harry and Avtar were brought in a state of cardiac arrest and were revived by the emergency team.

They continue to be in a critical state with injuries in the brain, lungs and other internal organs. Manjit also suffered multiple injuries. Mandeep is being kept under observation.

Late in the evening, Harry and Avtar were shifted to PGI where doctors declared Harry brought dead. Manjit, who was shifted to the Government Medical College and Hospital in Sector 32, was reported to be stable.

Police said that none of the three survivors was yet fit to record a statement.

“A case of rash driving and death due to negligence will be registered against the car driver on the basis of the statements of the eye-witnesses under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code,” said SHO Kulbir Singh.

Passersby alleged that the injured lay on the road for 15 minutes before they could arrange a vehicle. “Police were nowhere to be seen,” said Sarabjeet Singh, a Kumbra resident who later found that one of the injured, Manjit Singh, was from his village.