A Gurugram crash at an active Dwarka Expressway worksite killed three road workers and critically injured another early Thursday after a speeding hatchback allegedly breached roadside safety barriers and struck a construction area near Ram Chowk, police said.
The deceased were identified as Bijender Singh, 58, his cousin Pappu Singh, 55, and contractor Satish Chand, 43. Bijender and Pappu were declared brought dead at Civil Hospital, while Satish died from his injuries shortly afterwards. Bijender’s 28-year-old son, Ram Kumar, who was also at the site, is on ventilator support in the intensive care unit of a private hospital.
The crash took place between 1.50 am and 2.30 am on the Gurugram-bound surface corridor of the Dwarka Expressway, according to police. The workers were installing iron railing panels when the hatchback allegedly crossed the roadside safety barriers and rammed into the worksite.
The driver was identified as Vedant Khanna, a third-year BA (Honours) Economics student at St Stephen’s. He also suffered severe injuries and is receiving treatment at a private hospital. The complaint was filed at Bajghera police station by Satish’s brother, Jitender Kumar, who was present at the site. It alleged that the car was being driven recklessly and that the driver appeared intoxicated.
Police said blood samples from the accused were still awaited to establish whether he was intoxicated when the collision occurred. Officers said the impact threw the workers across the asphalt, struck an idling utility pickup truck and pushed it nearly 100 metres before the vehicle mounted the central divider and stopped.
The victims had moved to the National Capital Region for work and to support their families. Bijender and his son had relocated from Sarbhanna village in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr earlier this year and had taken up construction labour. Relatives said Bijender had been saving for his son’s wedding after his wife died last year.
Satish had moved to Delhi around eight years ago and supported his wife and four children. His friend Chaman Lal said the contractor had worked to keep his children in education, while relatives said his wife, Dolly Devi, has no independent income. Pappu had reportedly taken up labour work to build a wedding fund for his 18-year-old daughter after his adult sons continued managing marginal agricultural plots in their village.
The crash has put the focus on the safety of workers operating beside live expressway traffic during construction activity. In this case, police are examining the alleged breach of roadside barriers, the driver’s condition and the circumstances under which the worksite was being operated at the time of the collision. The investigation at Bajghera police station is continuing, with the pending blood-test results expected to establish whether intoxication was a factor.
