Ludhiana: A 17-year-old boy was killed and two other people were injured early on Sunday when a speeding car driven by an off-duty Army soldier crashed into an e-rickshaw near the Jalandhar Bypass.Police officials said the soldier had apparently fallen asleep at the wheel before striking the three-wheeler from behind in the Salem Tabri area at about 6am.Teenager Navi Kumar of Saroop Nagar, Jassian, died on the scene. He and two friends were returning home from a pilgrimage to the Vaishno Devi shrine and had boarded the e-rickshaw at the Ludhiana railway station.The e-rickshaw driver, Himanshu Kumar, told police that the car had struck the vehicle and dragged it for about 200m. The e-rickshaw was forced onto a footpath before crashing into a roadside railing. The driver and one of the teenager’s friends sustained injuries.The driver of the car, an Army jawan from Uttar Pradesh posted in Jammu, escaped unhurt after the vehicle’s airbags deployed.Salem Tabri police have reported that the soldier was returning to active duty from a period of leave when the collision occurred. Authorities have taken him into custody, and formal criminal charges are pending the recorded statements of the victim’s family.
