TIRUPATTUR: A 17-year-old minor girl driving her father’s car lost control of the vehicle after she stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake and crashed into a motorcycle, causing the death of a 14-year-old pillion rider near Vaniyambadi in Tirupattur district on Friday evening. Tirupattur superintendent of police Shyamala Devi said the minor girl and her father were booked under different sections of the BNS and MV Act. Police apprehended the girl and produced her before the juvenile justice board (JJB), which sent her to an observation home. Police arrested her father and produced him before a magistrate, who remanded him in judicial custody, she said. A resident of Vaniyambadi and his 14-year-old daughter were proceeding on his bike along the Puthukoil service road when a speeding car, driven by the 17-year-old girl with her father beside her, rammed into the bike. The teen girl was thrown off the bike and sustained severe injuries in the impact, while her father sustained minor injuries. Passersby rescued the girl and her father and took them in an ‘108’ ambulance to Vaniyambadi govt hospital, where the girl died due to injuries despite immediate medical attention. The Ambalur police reached the accident spot and made preliminary inquiries, which confirmed that the car was driven by a minor girl with her father’s permission. “The girl, without any driving experience, hit the accelerator instead of hitting the brake and crashed into the motorcycle. The girl riding pillion was grievously injured and died, while her father escaped with minor injuries. Police apprehended the girl and produced her before JJB, which sent her to an observation home. Police arrested her father, who was remanded in judicial custody,” said Shyamala Devi. Under the MV Act, owners can face severe penalties, including imprisonment and cancellation of vehicle registration, if a minor causes a fatal accident.
