The Ahmedabad Nikol crash death toll has risen to three after Snehal Vasoya died while undergoing treatment for injuries sustained when a Toyota Fortuner mounted a footpath in the east Ahmedabad neighbourhood, according to a report by Sandesh – Ahmedabad. The crash also killed a woman and her son at the scene, the report said.
Vasoya had been out with her husband, Kartik Vasoya, to shop for the Diwali festival when the vehicle struck them near the footpath. She suffered serious injuries to her head and other parts of her body and was admitted to hospital, where she later died during treatment. Her husband sustained injuries and received medical attention.
The accident has left the couple’s four-year-old twins, a boy and a girl, without their mother, according to the report. The earlier victims were identified as a woman and her son, who had been selling goods from a makeshift roadside stall near the footpath to earn a living.
Sandesh – Ahmedabad reported that the Fortuner was being driven by Viral Chaudhary, who was allegedly under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash. The report said Chaudhary and his friend Sagar had consumed beer at Sagar’s home before going out to eat, and that Chaudhary allegedly continued drinking while driving.
According to the report, Chaudhary was holding the steering wheel with one hand and a beer can with the other when he lost control of the vehicle. The Fortuner then mounted the footpath, where it struck pedestrians. Local residents detained Chaudhary at the scene and handed him over to the police, while Sagar allegedly left the vehicle amid the crowd and fled.
Police are preparing to register a prohibition-related case against Sagar and take steps to arrest him, the report said. Investigators are also treating him as a potentially important witness because he was allegedly present in the vehicle during the crash. His statement could be relevant to establishing who was driving and whether alcohol was being consumed while the vehicle was in motion.
The incident has drawn attention to the risks faced by pedestrians and informal roadside sellers who operate beside busy urban roads. In this case, the victims were near a footpath when the vehicle reportedly left the carriageway. The report did not provide details of the road’s speed limits, pedestrian-protection measures, traffic enforcement records or the precise charges filed against the driver.
Police action against the accused driver and the reported steps to locate Sagar are the next developments in the case. The investigation will determine the sequence of events, the driver’s condition and the legal responsibility for the three deaths.
