A toll plaza worker was severely injured after a speeding car broke through a boom barrier, struck him and dragged him on its bonnet at the Dhareri Jattan toll plaza on the Patiala-Rajpura highway early Saturday, police said. The driver fled the site and had not been arrested at the time of publication.
The incident took place at about 3.58am, when the vehicle entered the toll lane and crashed through the safety barrier. CCTV footage from cameras installed at the plaza showed the car hitting the on-duty employee, identified as Amandeep Singh, a resident of Ghumana village in Patiala district. Singh was carried on the bonnet for several feet before falling onto the road as the vehicle sped away.
Singh was taken to Government Rajindra Hospital in Patiala for treatment. DSP (Rural) Ranbir Singh said the police were registering a case and had traced the vehicle’s registration number using the CCTV footage. He said the car had a single occupant and that the injured worker was out of danger while undergoing treatment.
The police had not announced an arrest when the report was published. Station House Officer of Patiala Sadar police station Jaspal Singh could not be contacted for comment. The available account does not specify the sections under which the case was being registered or whether the vehicle had been recovered.
The crash has also brought attention to the exposure of toll plaza employees who work within active traffic lanes, often near moving vehicles and barrier equipment. Toll workers are responsible for operating or monitoring lanes while traffic continues to approach at speed, leaving limited physical separation between staff and vehicles that fail to stop or slow down.
Darshan Singh Laddi, president of the Punjab State Toll Plaza Workers Union, demanded the driver’s immediate arrest and stricter safety measures at toll facilities. He said the vehicle was being driven recklessly at high speed and did not appear to slow down before hitting the barrier. Laddi also said toll plaza workers had faced several incidents involving attacks or serious accidents while on duty.
The CCTV footage is now central to the police investigation and has enabled authorities to identify the vehicle’s registration number. The next confirmed step is the driver’s arrest and the continuation of the case registered in connection with the worker’s injuries. Singh remains under treatment at Government Rajindra Hospital, according to the police account.
