GURGAON: At 1.50am, when the Dwarka Expressway was relatively quiet and a group of workers was carrying out railing work on the median near Ram Chowk, a speeding Chevrolet Beat came hurtling through the work zone. It smashed into barricades and other safety arrangements before ploughing into the workers, killing three and leaving another grievously injured.The 20-year-old driver, Delhi University economics honours student Vedan Khanna, was also injured in the crash.According to the FIR, the white Beat was being driven at high speed and in a rash and negligent manner when it first smashed into a row of barricades, trestles and other safety arrangements placed by the workers. It then struck the men on the median, hit a Mahindra vehicle standing ahead and climbed onto the road divider before coming to a stop.The three workers who died were Bijendra Singh (60), Omprakash (58) and Satish Chand (45), all from Sarvanna village in Bulandshahr. They were declared dead on arrival at Govt Hospital in Sector 10A.Ram Kumar (28), also from Sarvanna, suffered grievous injuries and was taken to Vibrant Hospital, where he is undergoing treatment. Khanna was taken to Fortis Hospital for treatment.The FIR was registered at Bajghera police station on a complaint by Jitendra Kumar, Satish’s brother and a worker at the site.Jitendra told police that Satish had taken the contract, under SD Constructions, from Jupiter International Infra Company and L&T for installing railing along the expressway median. He said the men were carrying out the work when the car came from the Delhi side at high speed and crashed into them.The impact left a trail of destruction through the work zone. Police reached the spot after being alerted by passersby and arranged for ambulances. The injured persons were initially taken to Govt Hospital, where three died and Ram Kumar was sent to Vibrant Hospital.Blood test to establish if DU student was drunkWith the crash raising questions over the circumstances in which the car breached the work zone, police have obtained Khanna’s medical examination report and taken blood samples for testing. A report is awaited to establish if the DU student was drunk behind the wheel.Both the Beat and Mahindra vehicle (DL1LAR1271) were seized and brought to the police station. The bodies were sent to the mortuary after identification and the families were informed.A case was registered under BNS sections 106, 281, 125(A) and 324(5), relating to causing death by negligence, rash driving, acts endangering human life and mischief causing property loss or damage.Police are examining how the car crossed the barricades and reached the median, besides checking whether safety arrangements at the site were adequate.The crash has also brought the nighttime roadwork into focus. An NHAI official said the work was being carried out at night because traffic was comparatively lower and sufficient space was available on the median.“Adequate safety measures were put in place at the site in keeping with the prescribed protocol,” he said, adding that the speeding Beat jumped onto the median and hit the workers.
