Hyderabad: Rash driving led to mishap

Hyderabad: The accident on the Bio diversity flyover last year has not yet been forgotten, when residents of Hyderabad witnessed a similar incident of a car jumping over a flyover and falling on the road below.

Tuesday’s mishap at Bharathnagar, police said, was the result of speeding and rash driving.

This is similar to the claim they made about the accident at Raidurgam on November 23, 2019, in which Hyderabad-based gaming company chief executive officer Kalvakuntla Krishna Milan Rao reportedly lost control of the speeding vehicle which flew into the air and fell on the road claiming the life of a woman bystander.

There are about 10 flyovers within the precincts of the Cyberabad police commissionerate and the one at Bharatnagar is where the most number of accidents have taken place, though many of them have been non-fatal. They were mostly due to jaywalking, speeding, and irregular parking near the flyover entrance on both sides.

Early on Tuesday, a speeding car with six occupants, including the driver, fell from the Bharatnagar flyover. Mohammed Sohel, 27, who runs a hotel at Borabanda, was killed while the others sustained injuries.

The police believe that the car must have been moving at between 80 kmph and 100 kmph. Since the dashboard of the car was damaged in the mishap, investigators could not find the exact speed.

Cyberabad DCP (traffic) S.M. Vijay Kumar said, “Bharatnagar flyover is one of the 10 flyovers in the limits of the commissionerate that witnesses more accidents. Necessary road engineering measures will be taken by involving the concerned agencies to bring down the speed of vehicles on the flyovers.”

Following the mishap at Raidurgam on November 23, the Biodiversity flyover was shut for 40 days and was reopened after the recommendations of an expert technical committee on road engineering were implemented. It had been alleged that the design of the flyover was faulty and signage was inadequate.

However, Bharathnagar flyover does not have deviations but it also has no speed breakers. The driver of the car (AP 11 R 9189) Sunil, said he steered the vehicle to the left in order to not hit another vehicle moving ahead.

DCP Vijay Kumar, who also inspected the accident site, said, “Preliminarily, the accident appears to be due to rash driving and speeding. The driver could have pulled the vehicle to one side to avoid colliding with another. Or, the accident might have occurred due to the driver being distracted. The investigation is underway to find the facts.”

The DCP said that more accidents occurring in the city limits are due to speeding while the outskirts of the city see more mishaps due to drunk driving.

“The speed limit on the city roads is only 40 kmph. Motorists should have self-discipline while driving and ensure that the innocent are not victimised,” the deputy commissioner of police added.