A speeding Hyundai i20 moving towards Park Circus along the Parama flyover early on Friday hit the median divider, moved backward under the impact of the collision, hit the guard wall and did a U-turn before coming to a halt, police said.
Five persons in the car, including the driver, were injured. Under the impact of the crash into the median divider, a lamp post on the divider was knocked down.
The accident occurred at 6.15am, when traffic on Kolkata’s longest flyover was yet to pick up, the police said. The sound of the impact was such that it forced some of the vehicles behind the car to a halt, resulting in congestion in the morning.
The i20’s front fender was ripped apart following the collision and one of the front headlights was smashed into pieces. The light post on the median divider, which was hit by the car, fell on the carriageway, forcing vehicles on the other flank to stop temporarily.
Four of the passengers managed to walk away from the accident site, while the fifth stepped out and tried to walk but slumped before the police came to his rescue. He was later identified as Sahabaz Hossain, 28.
“When we reached the spot, Sahabaz was found sitting with his back to the car’s rear fender. He held on to a plastic bottle containing water and couldn’t stand up,” said a senior officer of the East traffic guard. “Four others had left.”
A resident of Samsul Huda Road in south Kolkata’s Park Circus, Sahabaz was taken to the Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital. The car was towed away.
Just below the accident spot is the Topsia crossing.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that the group of five were on their way home from a party in Salt Lake. The driver lost control apparently while speeding and hit the divider. The impact was so intense that the car moved backward and hit the guard wall of the flyover. It then turned around and came to a halt.
Officers managing traffic on the Parama flyover spoke of an “increasing tendency” among motorists to move down the flyover at a high speed at night or in the early hours, when traffic is relatively light.
“We make a number of prosecutions for speeding on the flyover in early hours. In all these cases, we send a snap-shot of the exact speed as recorded by our cameras to the owners of the offending vehicles,” said a police officer.
Topsia police station has started a case of rash and negligent driving against the driver of i20.
The police said the vehicle would be subjected to a mechanical test on Saturday to ascertain whether any snag led to the accident.