Racer Ashwin Sundar, wife, killed as their BMW rams tree, catches fire

CHENNAI: Professional car racer Ashwin Sundar and his wife Nivedhitha were charred to death after their BMW car rammed a roadside tree on the Santhome High Road in Chennai in the early hours of Saturday.Police said Sundar and his wife were trapped inside the car as they could not open the doors. The car was stuck in between the tree and a wall. The car caught fire, and the couple were charred to deathSundar was driving the car.Nivedhitha was a doctor working at a private hospital.Passersby, who saw the vehicle on fire, alerted the Chennai city police control room, and a team of police personnel from the Adyar traffic investigation wing rushed to the spot.Fire and rescue services personnel from Mylapore also pressed into service. They struggled for around half-an-hour to put out the fire.Adyar traffic investigation wing inspector of police Vanitha and her team broke open the car and recovered the bodies of the couple. The bodies were sent to the Government Royapettah Hospital for postmortem.Initially, the police didn't identify the couple. Later, they identified them with the help of the vehicle registration number. Inquiries revealed that the couple lived in Alapakkam near Porur. They visited their friend's house at MRC Nagar in Raja Annamalaipuram. The accident happened when they were returning home.