A car that was apparently speeding fell on its side after the driver engaged the handbrake, in desperation after the vehicle in front stopped suddenly, and was hit by an app cab from behind on EM Bypass, police said.
The Sunday afternoon accident near the Swabhumi crossing left two men and two women, who were travelling in the car that fell on its side, injured.
The police have learnt from a few bystanders and the injured that the accident happened when the driver of a speeding SUV suddenly slammed the brakes.
The driver of a Maruti car that was behind the SUV was apparently unable to stop and pulled the handbrake. The four injured told the police that the Maruti car, which too was apparently moving at a high speed, fell on its side after the handbrake was engaged, an officer said.
“The injured said the driver pulled the handbrake in desperation, resulting in the accident. He was at a loss what to do when the SUV in front suddenly stopped. An app cab that was behind the Maruti hit the car,” said an officer of Phoolbagan police station.
“The injured were shifted to a private hospital nearby. All four were discharged after treatment. The driver of the Maruti car fled.”
The officer said the handbrake was not meant to stop a car.
“The handbrake is engaged to lock the wheels of a stationary vehicle, especially when it is parked on an incline. If the driver of a speeding car pulls the handbrake, the vehicle is likely to overturn,” the officer said.
The accident happened around 3pm. Eyewitnesses have told the police that the SUV and the Maruti were trying to speed past each other along the Ultadanga-bound flank of the Bypass.
The SUV had to abruptly stop after the signal turned red, resulting in the driver of the Maruti engaging the handbrake. “We will scan the footage of CCTV cameras around the spot to check the speed of the vehicles. A case of rash and negligent driving under Section 279 of the IPC will be registered. The accident could have been fatal,” another officer said.
The car was towed to Phoolbagan police station after the accident.
A preliminary investigation has revealed that the four injured were employees of a nursing home in Belghoria, on the northern fringes of the city.
The police admitted that a section of motorists had a tendency to speed on the Bypass stretch between the Beleghata intersection and Phoolbagan.
“This stretch of the Bypass adjoining Subhas Sarobar has no traffic signals and offers good road space. That encourages a section of motorists to speed,” said an officer involved in managing traffic on the Bypass.