A 25-year-old man died and six others were injured after a tempo traveller crashed into an electricity pole while trying to avoid two youths allegedly performing bike wheeling near Bengaluru’s Nagarabhavi Ring Road late on Saturday night, according to a report by Vijay Karnataka.
The deceased was identified as Manoj, a resident of Lagggere and a car driver with a private company. He was travelling with friends in the tempo traveller to Mysuru when the accident occurred. The vehicle was being driven by a man identified as Ravi.
According to police cited in the report, the tempo traveller was moving along the ring road when two youths riding towards it suddenly crossed its path while performing a wheeling stunt. Ravi attempted to avoid hitting the motorcycles but lost control of the vehicle, which struck an electricity pole located on the road divider and overturned.
Manoj was seated in the front of the tempo traveller and suffered critical injuries in the crash. He died at the scene, police said. Ravi sustained injuries to both legs, while the other passengers were also injured. The youths allegedly involved in the wheeling incident fled without stopping after the crash.
A case has been registered at the Jnanabharathi Traffic Police Station. The report did not identify the two riders or state whether they had been traced or arrested.
The incident has also raised questions about the emergency response at the crash site. Local residents alleged that an ambulance arrived only after about an hour and that the vehicle did not have medical personnel on board. They said faster transport to a hospital could have allowed an immediate attempt to save Manoj’s life. These claims were reported as statements by local residents and were not accompanied in the supplied report by an official ambulance-service response.
The crash comes amid growing enforcement against dangerous wheeling in Karnataka. The report said 2,324 cases were registered across the state between 2021 and 2025, while more than 1,200 driving licences had already been cancelled. Police action reportedly includes arrests, vehicle seizures, cancellation of registration certificates and cases against parents when minors are involved.
Authorities are also acting against garages and mechanics involved in modifying motorcycles for such stunts, according to the report. Cobra patrol personnel have been deployed on roads identified as vulnerable to wheeling. The latest case has been registered with the traffic police, while the riders who allegedly fled remain to be identified in the available account.
