Two youths and an underage boy died on NH512 on Sunday night when their two-wheeler crashed with a speeding SUV at Amtala under Gazole police station of Malda.

Police said the SUV headed heading towards South Dinajpur rammed into the two-wheeler. The driver and passengers of the SUV fled, leaving the trio bleeding on the road.

Doctors at a Gazole hospital pronounced Ujjwal Pal, 24, Kalipada Turi, 21, and Surajit Roy, 15, dead. Police suspect the SUV driver was drunk.

Nurtaz Ansari, a member of the Shahajadpur panchayat, where the incident occurred, said they found the SUV, with its front damaged, parked on one side of the road. “There is a sharp bend in this stretch of the highway. There are caution boards but drivers often negotiate recklessly through the turn. We suspect the vehicle was at breakneck speed and lost control as the two-wheeler came from the opposite side,” he said.

Police have seized the vehicle and are in search of its owner. “We have information that the driver was drunk. Search is on to find him and other passengers in the SUV,” said a police officer.