Hyderabad: Drunk driving claims lives of three youths

Hyderabad: Drunken driving and not wearing a seat belt claimed the lives of three youngsters, in an accident on Sunday in Saroornagar. The fourth occupant of the car who was wearing a seat belt had minor injuries.

The deceased were identified as Vinayak Mallikarjun, 29, Sri Ram, 29, Sainath, 27, and M. Kalyan, who escaped with minor injuries. They were all residents of Saidabad and Mahbubad/.

According to Saroornagar inspector Srinivas Reddy, the four were travelling by car from Nagarjunasagar Road towards Champapet at around 1 am on Sunday. Mallikarjun who was driving appears to have lost control of the car and hit a telephone pole first and then a tree.

A preliminary inquiry revealed that the four went for a long drive together with two other friends who were on a bike. They had drinks at Gurram Cheruvu on the Sagar Road. Feeling hungry, they decided to head for a roadside dhaba.

Shaik Gulzar, one of the friends on the bike, said the four in the car went ahead and he and Sai Kumar followed on the bike. “We had travelled for about a kilometre when we found the car had hit a tree and also our friends lying outside the car,” he said.

They called an ambulance which took them to a nearby private hospital.

The Inspector said that the doctors at the hospital declared Mallikarjun, Sri Ram, and Sainath dead on arrival and Kalyan was admitted for treatment. He survived, the inspector said, because he was wearing a seat belt.

A case of rash and negligent driving has registered and further investigation is on.