Eyewitness recounts scene of horror that unfolded in Rohini

The Audi car had just overtaken a dozen other vehicles on the Katju Marg when a dumper, laden with sand, suddenly overturned while making a U-turn at a high speed and crushed it, an eyewitness of the horrific accident in Rohini recounts the scene that unfolded before him.

Three members of a family were crushed to death in the accident that took place near the ESI Hospital in Rohini at around 12.35 am on Wednesday.

The deceased were identified as Sumit Singhal (29), his wife Ruchi Singhal (27) and mother Reeta Singhal (65). The couple's three-year-old boy had a miraculous escape but was trapped inside the car.

Sumit and his family were returning home after attending a marriage ceremony in Gurugram.

"I was returning home after work. Sumit and his family were coming from Madhuban Chowk towards the by-pass and took a left cut to Sachdeva school. I spotted his Audi. He overtook my car, followed by two other cars and went ahead," Anuragh Pillai, who lived near the house of the victims' family in Rohini Sector 15, said.

"While taking the U-turn, a speeding dumper truck tried to overtake the car and suddenly applied the brakes. The vehicle skidded and overturned crushing Sumit's car," he said.

There was, however, no indication of a U-turn anywhere on the road, Pillai claimed.

"I immediately rushed to the spot and told a cab driver present on the scene to call up the police. Within 10-15 minutes, three PCR Vans reached the spot.

"The door of the Audi was badly mangled. Sumit's wife Ruchi, who was sitting next to Sumit, was lying immobile. She was taken out first and rushed to hospital where she was declared brought dead," he said.

Pillai claimed that he heard the cries of the child coming from the car, who was later rescued without having sustained a scratch.

The child subsequently lost consciousness but was rescued by the Fire Department and disaster management teams, officials said.

Later, a crane was called around 2.15 am and the bodies of Sumit and his mother Reeta were taken out and rushed to the hospital. The roof of the car had to be cut open with gas cutters to take Sumit's body out as it was entangled in the car's wreckage, Pillai said.

The driver of the dumper fled away from the spot after the accident, he added.