Pune crash re-run? Drunk teen rams SUV into autorickshaw; 4 injured

PUNE: Four members of a family were injured after a compact SUV, driven by an 18-year-old student allegedly in an inebriated state, rammed their autorickshaw at Parandenagar on Porwal Road in Lohegaon around Sunday midnight.
The autorickshaw had stopped in front of an ice cream shop when the vehicle hit it, causing the three-wheeler to turn on its side.
The 40-year-old auto driver, Ashok Payaal, and some passersby apprehended the driver and his friend, who were travelling in the SUV, and called the Airport police who took the student into custody. The teenager's father works with a private firm in Dubai and his mother is a stage artist, police said. "Investigations revealed that the student had recently secured a driving licence. He lost control of the new SUV as it veered off the road and hit the autorickshaw," senior inspector Anand Khobre told TOI.
The teenage driver's physical appearance gave enough indication about his driving under the influence of alcohol, Khobre said. "We have conducted his medical examination and his blood alcohol test report is awaited. During initial questioning, the duo admitted that they consumed liquor at the teenager's residence in Dhanori late Sunday night before stepping out as the 18-year-old wanted to drop his friend home," he said.
On Monday afternoon, the teenager was arrested for offences under sections 279 (rash and negligent driving), 337 and 338 (both related to act endangering human life or personal safety of others) and 427 (mischief) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 184 (driving dangerously) and 185 (driving by a drunken person) of the Motor Vehicles Act.
"We produced him before a city court, which ordered his release on bail," the police officer said.
In his complaint, Payaal has said after dinner at his house in Dhanori, he had taken his family to the ice cream shop in Parandenagar. He got down and went to the shop while his family stayed back in the autorickshaw. At this point, the SUV crashed into his vehicle, injuring his family members and extensively damaging his auto, Payaal said. The SUV was headed towards Dhanori octroi post from the DY Patil college area, the police said. Payaal's wife Jyoti (35), daughter Amruta (12), mother-in-law Saybin Salvi (58) and niece Sanika Salvi (6) sustained fractures to their legs and internal injuries. They were admitted to a nearby hospital, police said.