A family of three escaped without injuries after their car veered off a road near the Jatragachi bridge in New Town and overturned among rubbish beside the Bagjola canal on Saturday, with local residents rescuing the child and the other occupants before police arrived.
The car was travelling from the Baguiati side towards New Town along the road beside the Bagjola canal. Police and local sources identified the driver as Ujjal Mistry. His wife was seated beside him, with their daughter on her lap.
According to eyewitnesses, the car was travelling at a normal speed before it suddenly moved towards the canal near the Jatragachi bridge. The vehicle struck the footpath and continued towards the canal, but did not fall into the water. It overturned in waste accumulated along the canal bank.
Residents who noticed the vehicle moving off the road began the rescue operation. A local woman removed the child from the car first, after which the driver and his wife were brought out. None of the three occupants sustained injuries, although the family was left frightened by the sudden accident.
Police said Mistry told them that his daughter had suddenly tried to move towards the rear of the vehicle through the gap between the seats. He said he lost concentration while looking towards her. By the time he realised that the car had changed direction and was moving to the right, he attempted to stop it but mistakenly pressed the accelerator instead of the brake.
Police reached the spot after receiving information about the accident. The incident caused temporary traffic congestion in the area. A hydraulic crane was brought in to remove the overturned vehicle, which had become stuck in the rubbish along the canal bank.
The accident follows another incident last month in which a woman learner driver reportedly pressed the accelerator instead of the brake while driving a newly purchased car. That vehicle rolled into a pond and the woman died. The latest incident ended without injuries after residents intervened quickly, but both cases involved a loss of control linked to an incorrect pedal input, according to the reports.
Police used a hydraulic crane to lift the damaged car from the canal-side waste area after the rescue operation was completed.
