Gurgaon: A cab driver was killed and a passenger injured after iron bars jutting out from an e-rickshaw pierced the windscreen of a car on Dwarka Expressway on Friday. TMT rods impaled the driver’s neck after the car, a Hyundai Aura, rammed into the rear of the e-rickshaw near Sector 36A around 1.30 pm, police said.Shivendra Kumar (22) , who was driving the cab, appears not to have been able to brake in time after encountering the slow-moving e-rickshaw on the high-speed access-controlled road. E-rickshaws are banned on expressways.Police said the rods invaded the entire length of the car before and also punctured the rear windscreen. The cab’s passenger escaped with minor injuries because she was seated on the left side of the rear seat. She was shifted to hospital.Police have launched a search to trace the e-rickshaw driver, who abandoned the vehicle and fled after the crash.Rahul, an autorickshaw driver who witnessed the crash, said passersby alerted the police control room immediately after the collision. Police and an NHAI ambulance reached the spot within minutes, but the medical team could not revive the driver, who suffered fatal head, face and neck injuries.Police spokesperson Sandeep Kumar said the injured passenger did not file a complaint, but Kumar’s family had been informed about the accident. The body will be sent for autopsy after an FIR is registered, cops said.The accident, while serving as a grim reminder of the dangers of transporting long iron and steel bars on small vehicles, also highlighted another persistent violation on Delhi-NCR highways — e-rickshaws and other slow-moving vehicles continuing to ply on expressways despite a ban.Traffic policeman Satpal Singh said despite regular enforcement drives, e-rickshaws, autos and other two- and three-wheelers continue to use expressways, exposing themselves and faster-moving traffic to serious risks. “On Friday, the e-rickshaw was moving very slowly on the expressway, which contributed to the accident. Enforcement teams regularly issue challans, but violations have continued,” he said.Traffic police data show 63,428 challans were issued for no-entry violations on Dwarka Expressway between Jan and July 15 this year. During the same period, 51,654 motorists were penalised for improper lane changes and 13,420 for driving without seat belts.Officials said expressways are designed for fast-moving traffic and warned that the presence of slow-moving vehicles, particularly those carrying unsecured or protruding loads, significantly increases the risk of fatal crashes. They urged motorists to comply with restrictions meant to improve road safety.
