Drunk driver kills 2, flees and hits another car, escapes

An inebriated truck driver, identified as Ram Kishan, on Thursday morning mowed down two persons, including an on-duty policeman, at a police picket in R.K. Puram.

The speeding truck first hit a moving car and then took along a barricade to crush constable Deepak Kumar (40), who was checking a cab. Second deceased Santosh Baro, a travel agent, was one of the three passengers of the Ola Cab. Santosh’s friends and co-passengers K. Sura (35) and Esther Pongen (20) were also injured. However, cab driver escaped unhurt. The truck driver fled towards Naraina where he had to deliver a consignment of cables.

The police had set up a picket opposite R.K. Khanna Tennis Stadium on Africa Avenue Marg and constables Jai Narayan and Deepak were manning it. “Around 12.10 am, Deepak stopped a Maruti Eeco and started checking it. At the same time, a truck with a Haryana number plate approached the picket at a very high speed and first hit a Wagon R, injuring its occupants,” said the police.

“The truck kept moving and went on to hit the barricade that hit Deepak as he was checking the boot of the Eeco. He was sandwiched between the van and the barricade.”

The errant driver still did not stop. Constable Narayan, meanwhile, took his colleague and others to a hospital in the Wagon R. He also alerted the control room. The truck then took a left at Bhikaji Cama Place and entered Ring Road. The driver then hit another vehicle, a Volkswagen Polo, near Hyatt Regency. The car, in turn, hit a Ford Endeavour.

“That proved costly for the errant driver. Some seven to eight men sitting in the SUV got down and first grabbed the Polo driver. When he explained the truck was at fault, they turned towards the truck,” said the police.

At that point, driver Ram Kishan and his cleaner Sunil left the truck and tried to escape. The occupants of the SUV managed to get hold of Sunil and handed him over to the police. “When questioned, the cleaner admitted to his driver’s involvement in the hits-and-run and told us that he and Ram had consumed alcohol as well. We found a bottle of whiskey and some snacks in the vehicle,” said the police.