Three youths died on NH12 as their vehicle rammed into a stationary truck near Bahadurpur forest of Dhubulia in Nadia late on Thursday night.

The driver of the car, a friend of the victims from Kharagpur, suffered critical injuries and is now fighting for life at Nadia district hospital in Krishnagar.

Police said the three deceased persons — Sougata Kanu, Nayan Sarkar, and Debasish Biswas, all aged in their late 20s, and residents of Shimulala in Krishnagar — were returning from Berhampore.

Nayan was a civic police by profession and attached to the Krishnagar police district.

The identity of the injured driver could not be ascertained till late Thursday evening.

Police said the accident occurred late on Wednesday night when the driver of the four-wheeler lost control of the car while taking a turn on NH12 and rammed into the lorry parked on the roadside.

Police and local sources said the ill-fated car was running at a very high speed on the rain-soaked road. It lost control at the turn and hit the parked lorry.

Some local residents informed the police, who took the accident victims to the Nadia district hospital in Krishnanagar, where doctors declared three of them dead.

Jit Biswas, a relative of the deceased Debasish, said, “Debasish always personally drove his car. He was a very careful driver. But it is not clear to me why he let his friend drive the car.”