A city-bound loaded truck knocked down a motorcyclist on Vidyasagar Setu and fled before crashing into the boundary wall of Fort William near its South Gate on Kidderpore Road on Saturday night, police said.

The motorcyclist, Sunil Sharma, 44, was critically injured and taken to SSKM Hospital, where he was declared dead.

The driver fled the Fort William crash site, the police said. “The two accidents happened within a span of five to seven minutes. We checked CCTV footage and realised that the same cement-laden truck was involved in both accidents,” said an officer.

“It was apparent that the truck was being driven rashly and the driver failed to control the vehicle. The vehicle was headed for Dum Dum.”

A case under the IPC section related to culpable homicide not amounting to murder (part-II), which suggests the accused had full knowledge of the consequences of his act, has been initiated against the absconding driver.

“The case has been started under a stringent section because it was apparent that the driver had full knowledge of his actions. He could have stopped and tried to help the victim. Instead, he fled and drove dangerously before crashing the truck into the Fort William wall.”

The investigation into the twin accidents has been taken over by the fatal squad of the traffic police. The truck will undergo mechanical tests to ascertain whether there was any mechanical fault.

The incident happened two days after a minibus had fatally hit a motorcyclist before ramming into balustrades outside Fort William. At least 14 passengers were injured and a number of seats on the bus were dislodged under the impact of the crash.

Two more deaths

One more fatal accident was reported on Saturday night and another the next morning.

Scooterist Snehasish Ghosh, 28, a resident of Baranagar, was hit by a truck at the crossing of BB Ganguly Street and Central Avenue on Saturday night around 10.20pm.

Officers of Bowbazar police station took Ghosh to the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital where he was declared dead. Ghosh was wearing a helmet.

Around 4am on Sunday, an elderly pedestrian, whose identity could not be established till evening, was fatally hit by an unidentified vehicle on Circus Avenue, in the Karaya police station area.

A case under the IPC section related to causing death due to negligence has been initiated.