A 19-year-old college student died after a passenger auto collided head-on with a speeding van and then struck three pedestrians near Ashoknagar Market on NSC Bose Road in Kolkata’s Regent Park area, police said. The van driver has been arrested in connection with the accident.
The collision took place on Wednesday afternoon near the Ashoknagar Market area under Regent Park police station. The deceased was identified as Lilima Das, a resident of Regent Park and a student at a private college.
According to police information cited in the report, the auto was carrying a dialysis patient from MR Bangur Hospital towards Garia. The van was travelling in the opposite direction towards Tollygunge Tram Depot when the crash occurred.
Police’s preliminary assessment is that the van was travelling at high speed and attempted to overtake another vehicle near the market. It then came into the path of the oncoming auto. The auto driver tried to move the vehicle to avoid the collision but was unable to prevent the crash.
The impact caused the auto to lose control and hit three friends who were walking along the road. Lilima Das was among those pedestrians. The auto driver and three other people were injured in the accident and were taken to MR Bangur Hospital.
The three other injured people were given initial treatment and discharged, according to the police account. Lilima Das was admitted to the hospital but died there later that night while undergoing treatment.
The incident highlights the risks faced by pedestrians and other road users when high-speed vehicles attempt to overtake on busy urban roads. The available report does not provide details of the road’s speed limits, traffic-control arrangements, vehicle condition or whether any additional enforcement action is planned.
Police have arrested the van driver. Further action will depend on the investigation into the circumstances of the collision, including the alleged speeding and attempted overtaking near Ashoknagar Market.
