noida

Updated: Aug 19, 2019 08:47 IST

A ride to celebrate a new vehicle turned tragic on Sunday morning for four friends who lost their lives in an accident on the Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida.

The four friends, and five others who were injured in the incident, were returning from Aligarh when the vehicle failed to negotiate a left turn near Zero Point on the Expressway and plunged 30 feet onto the ground below. The incident happened at around 9.30am, said police.

Police suspected that the driver was inebriated and that the vehicle was speeding.

The nine occupants were all employees of a Noida IT firm. Police identified the dead as Naveen (32) from Meerut; Chandra Mohan (26) from Mayur Vihar, Delhi; Shiv Vijay (32) from Laxmi Nagar, Delhi and Sheela (24) from Noida. The survivors of the accident were identified as Salim (22) from Maujpur, Delhi; Sushmita (22) from Laxmi Nagar, Delhi; Ashish Sood alias Ashu (34) from Shimla; Abhishek Tyagi (26) from Noida and 25-year-old Nancy, whose residence was being verified at the time of filing this report.

Ashish is the director at the company where the occupants worked for and Abhishek, who was driving the vehicle, is a manager, said police.

Nine employees – three women and six men - of a Noida Sector 2 based IT firm - Terasys Technologies – were returning from Aligarh when the accident took place near Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Institute of Archaeology in Greater Noida. Police said the SUV was speeding and the occupants were under the influence of alcohol after a party. The SUV was damaged beyond recognition.

Tanu Upadhyaya, Circle Officer-1, Greater Noida, said, “Primary investigation showed the vehicle was speeding and the occupants were under the influence of alcohol. The group had left for Aligarh in a black Ford Endeavour early morning. We received information that the car skidded and fell to the ground after hitting the right side wall at around 9:30 am. A police team reached the spot and rushed six victims to Yathartha Hospital Greater Noida and three to Kailash Hospital, Greater Noida,” she said. The victims worked for Terasys Technologies, she added.

“The vehicle was mangled. It appears that the vehicle was travelling at over 150 kmph,” said Sudhakar Singh, a sub-inspector at Knowledge Park police station, who responded to the PCR call. Knowledge Park police said the bodies have been sent for autopsy and reports are awaited. Police said they have not received a formal complaint in this regard.

A Yathartha Hospital spokesperson said three victims Sheela, Chandra Mohan and Shiv Vijay – were declared brought dead, while Naveen succumbed to injuries after sometime. He added the condition of two other victims, Salim and Sushmita, is stable. Three other victims – Abhishek Tyagi, Ashish Sood and Nancy – are admitted to Kailash Hospital in Greater Noida in critical condition.

Salim, who was on the rear seat escaped with bruises on his right arm and pain in cervical region. “Abhishek was behind the wheel and was speeding. We were about to reach Greater Noida when the vehicle skidded and fell to ground,” he said.

He said the accident was so severe that the vehicle’s fall crushed the right side wall/railing and a pole pierced through the vehicle. “The car hit the railing on the other side of the expressway, and then fell to ground. The accident was severe and I lost consciousness. I woke up in the hospital bed hours later,” said Salim. He said that Ashish Sood had bought the Endeavour two days ago, and he had offered a joyride to the group. Since the Yamuna Expressway opened in August 2012, there have been more than 5,000 accidents and 900 deaths on the 165-km long route from Greater Noida to Agra.