Car race at dawn leaves two dead

An impromptu race between some youths in two cars at dawn today turned fatal as two were killed and six injured, one of them seriously.

An impromptu race between some youths in two cars at dawn today turned fatal as two were killed and six injured, one of them seriously. The incident occurred on a stretch of the J P Road in Andheri. The youths were driving a Maruti Swift and Fiat Palio.

According to the police, Gaurav Avlani (21) and Abhishekh Sethi (19) were driving at over 100 kmph when the accident occurred. Sethi, who was at the wheel of the Palio, died on the spot. The other victim was identified as Tarosh Diwanjee (18), a resident of Thakur Village in Kandivli, who was sitting in the co-driver’s seat in the Swift.

“Prima-facie it does not look as if any of the youngsters were drunk, but we have sent their blood samples for alcohol test,” said Vijay Sonavane, senior police inspector at the Versova police station.

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Reconstructing the sequence of events after talking to those who survived the accident, the police said the youths driving the cars did not know each other but had decided on an impromptu race. Both Avlani, the son of a builder, and Sethi are residents of Suman Tower in Lokhandwala complex. Avlani has been arrested for rash and negligent driving.

During the race, Avlani reportedly hit a tempo which was also travelling at high speed. The Swift spun out of control. The Palio, which was trying to overtake the Swift from the left, was hit and pushed to the edge of road.

As the tempo screeched to a halt after hitting the Swift, the car behind it, an Indigo, rammed into it. But the driver, Uday Jharivala, was not seriously injured. The tempo driver, Leo Castelino (51), was also not seriously injured. He was arrested for rash and negligent driving.

The Swift, meanwhile, kept moving. It collided with an autorickshaw parked on the other side of the road with such force that the three-wheeler was thrown into the air. However, the driver, Prabhat Kumar Singh, escaped with bruises. The Swift finally came to a halt after hitting a milk van parked behind the autorickshaw. The police said Manish Chaturvedi (28), the third person in the Swift who was sitting in the back, was seriously injured. Rahul Vidhane (20), the owner of the Palio who was sitting in the co-driver’s seat, was also injured.