Panchkula: Four teenagers killed in car crash near Pinjore

A road accident on Tipra Bypass near Pinjore claimed the lives of four teenagers in the early hours of Sunday morning. Aged 17-18 years, the victims were class 12 students who were returning from Parwanoo after celebrating the birthday of one of their friends.

They have been identified as Adhyayan Bansal from Dhakoli, Adeep Ashraf Ansari from Peer Muchhalla, Zirakpur, Chirag Malik from Hisar and Vaibhav Yadav from Sector 5, MDC, Panchkula. Vaibhav was the son of Vipin Yadav, additional advocate general of Punjab.

The victims were travelling in a Hyundai Verna car when its front right tyre burst, causing the vehicle to crash into a divider before colliding with a parked truck. According to Nihar Jeet Singh, a resident of Peer Muchhalla, Zirakpur, he and his friends were returning from Parwanoo, Himachal Pradesh, in two cars – a Baleno and a Verna.

The Verna was ahead, being driven by Adeep Ashraf Ansari, while Nihar Jeet was driving the Baleno. Around 5:15 am, near Tipra Bypass, Pinjore, the car’s front right tyre suddenly burst, making the car lose control. It first hit the road divider and then crashed into a stationary truck, which was “improperly” parked on the roadside.

The impact left all four car occupants unconscious with severe injuries. Locals pulled the injured men out of the wrecked vehicle and rushed to the Government Hospital in Sector 6, Panchkula, in an ambulance. However, doctors declared all four victims dead on arrival.

Nihar Jeet Singh, in his statement to the police, stated, “Had the truck not been parked haphazardly, the four lives could have been saved.” He demanded action against the truck driver for “negligence”.

Upon receiving information about the accident, sub-inspector Arjun Singh, accompanied by a police team, reached the accident site. Based on the statement of Nihar Jeet Singh, the police have registered an FIR under Sections 106, 285, and 324(4) of the BNS against the truck driver at the Pinjore police station. The truck driver is yet to be arrested, the police said.

Rising road fatalities

Panchkula’s road mishap fatalities have increased from 98 (claiming 103 lives) in 2023 to 105 (leaving 109 dead) in 2024. A number of mishaps took place this month.

February 22: A 46-year-old man died after being struck by a ‘speeding’ car near the Zirakpur flyover.

February 17: A person was killed and his friend critically injured when a ‘speeding’ truck collided with two bikes on the Pinjore-Nalagarh Road.

February 15: A private bus plying on the wrong side of the road claimed the life of a biker near the Charniya turn on the Baddi-Pinjore highway.

February 10: A biker sustained injuries while the pillion rider died in a road accident near the Chandimandir toll plaza.

February 8: A labourer lost his life in a mishap involving a tractor-trolley near Shivlotia Temple Bridge in Pinjore.

February 1: A man died and another was severely injured after a car hit an auto-rickshaw near Jainendra Gurukul Auditorium in Old Panchkula.