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Three engineering students of Amity University, Noida, were killed and seven of their classmates, including three girls, were injured after their rental SUV collided with a tractor on National Highway 1 a few hours after midnight Friday, said police.
Preliminary investigation revealed the students were heading to Murthal for food in a self-drive rental Scorpio when the youngster driving it lost control, police added. The tractor was carrying bricks, which fell on three of the badly injured students when they struggled out of the SUV, said police.
All three died, police added. The SUV was badly mangled on impact and gas cutters had to be used to pull out some of the students, said police. A passerby, Parmanand Dubey, who was returning home in Rajouri Garden after attending a function, informed police about the collision, which occurred around 2 am. Dubey claimed several people were at the spot, but instead of helping the victims, they were making videos on their phones.
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M N Tiwari, deputy commissioner of police (outer district), said Saturday the deceased were identified as Shikhar (22), Ujjawal (21) and Rajesh (24). Shikhar and Ujjawal were the only children of their parents and belonged to Meerut and Bhiwani, respectively, he added.
“The injured have been identified as Subham (21), Pranav Pandey (20), Vijay (20), Shubham (19), Reefat (21), Vanshika (20) and Pooja (21). All are students of BTech IInd year at Amity University in Noida,” said Tiwari.
The students were taken to Satyawadi Raja Harish Chander Hospital, where three of them were declared dead on arrival. Police said the condition of Pranav Pandey and Shubham was critical and they were shifted to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital. Police said Shikhar was driving the SUV. “The collision occurred near the Grand Orchid and Tivoli Farmhouse,” said a senior police officer. “The entire left portion of the car was completely damaged. Shikhar, Ujjawal and Rajesh struggled out of the SUV and the bricks in the tractor fell on them,” the officer added.
Dubey made the call to police control room at 2.06 am, said the officer. “Local police, along with fire tenders, rushed to the spot. Police helped the victims and cleared the road,” the officer added.
Police have seized both vehicles involved in the accident. “The driver of the tractor is on the run. A case under sections 279 (rash and negligent driving) and 304-A (death caused due to negligence) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered at Alipur police station. Investigations are on,” said the officer.
