Mumbai, November 12
Seven persons, including two children, were killed in the wee hours of today when a drunken youth drove a Toyota Corrola on pavement dwellers who were sleeping in the Carter road area of Bandra.
The police said the mishap occurred a little before 4 am when three youths returning home from a party in a drunken state lost control of the vehicle which mounted the kerb. At least 15 others were injured. Five of them received serious injuries.
Most of the victims were migrant labourers from Tamil Nadu who were employed at a construction site nearby, the police said.
The front of the car was totally smashed and its number plate was thrown some distance away. The youths ran away from the scene shortly after the accident but later surrendered to the police. The police is on the lookout for a girl who was with them.
The accused have been identified as Alister Miranda, 21, and Greg Pereira and Ken Roy, both 18.
The police said a bottle of whisky was found in the car. Blood tests on the youths indicated very high levels of alcohol. “Three youths were arrested, of which two, including the driver, tested positive for alcohol,” Additional Commissioner of Police (west region) Bipin Bihari said.
Today's accident was a replay of the 2002 accident when actor Salman Khan ran his Land Rover over some persons sleeping on the
footpath in the same neighbourhood.
A five-year-old boy and a seven-year-old girl were among the dead. The injured have been admitted to Bhabha Hospital in Bandra.
