The Volkswagen Polo which killed a cyclist and injured a pedestrian on Prince Anwar Shah Road on Sunday was moving at approximately 80km an hour before the man at the wheel braked to avoid hitting a guardrail, police said.

“Preliminary findings suggest the vehicle had skidded and hit the cyclist, who was standing closest to the car along a footpath. Then the car hit the pedestrian,” said an officer of the traffic department.

The skid marks could be because of “locking of wheels” with sudden pressing of brakes, said another officer who is part of the probe.

Specific details will emerge after the Volkswagen’s event data recorder is examined, the police said.

Subham Banerjee, a 23-year-old engineering graduate, was at the wheel when the vehicle met with the accident.

Lodged in the Lalbazar central lock-up, Banerjee has purportedly lamented the accident. “He said he wanted to do his masters, for which he was preparing. He is worried whether he would be able to complete his studies from inside jail,” an officer at Lalbazar said.

Banerjee has been charged under IPC sections related to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, attempt to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, mischief and drink driving. The charges, if proved, could lead to a maximum punishment of 10 years in jail.

He will be produced in court again on Thursday.

The deceased cyclist, Ratan Sarkar, 48, is survived by his wife and two daughters. “I don’t know how we will survive,” said Sarkar’s wife Manju.