Birthday ride goes wrong, student killed in Delhi SUV accident

A 19-year-old Delhi University student died and his four friends were injured after their speeding SUV crashed into a guardrail, which pierced through the vehicle, near Rajghat in north Delhi early on Thursday, the police said.

They were returning from Gurugram after celebrating the teenager's birthday.

Aishwarya Pandey was admitted to LNJP Hospital where he was put on ventilation support. He died late on Thursday.

The police suspect that the students were under the influence of alcohol. However, one student said the one who was driving the car got distracted while changing songs on his mobile phone.

Deputy commissioner of police (North) MK Meena said a case under Sections 281 (rash driving) and 125(a) (causing hurt by act endangering life of personal safety of others) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita had been registered at Kotwali police station.

A probe is underway from all angles to ascertain the actual cause of the accident, he said.

The police conducted medical examinations of three students, including the two who were discharged from the hospital after first aid, and found them to be under the influence of alcohol, sources said.

Another officer said they were also investigating if there was any engineering fault on the road.

It appears that the Hyundai Venue car was being driven at a high speed and the driver lost control, leading to the crash, the officer said and added that the accident occurred on the stretch between the Shanti Van red light and Geeta Colony.

The car climbed onto the divider at the intersection of the main road and the ISBT and crashed into the guardrail, the officer added.

Pandey, a first-year BA student of Deshbandhu College, had thrown a birthday party for his friends -- Keshav Kumar (19), Aishwarya Mishra (19) and Ujjawal (19), all students of Dayal Singh College, and Krishna (18) of Motilal Nehru College.

The second officer said Pandey had rented the SUV for Rs 1,500 from Shadipur for a night and asked Mishra to drive. He was sitting behind the driver.

Pandey suffered multiple head injuries and was put on ventilator support at LNJP Hospital.

Mishra, who hailed from Uttar Pradesh's Etawah, suffered critical injuries. His parents have admitted him to a private hospital in Delhi.

Pandey also hailed from Etawah and lived in a rented accommodation in east Delhi's Laxmi Nagar.

He lost his father, who worked for a private company, due to an illness and his mother, a teacher, died in 2019 in a road accident. After his parents' died, he was taken in by his maternal uncle in Etawah.

Pandey's family members have been called to Delhi, the police said.

Krishna, a resident of south Delhi's Saket, is undergoing treatment but is stated to be out of danger. He was seated in the middle of the rear seat.

Kumar, also a native of Etawah, was sitting next to the driver. Ujjawal was sitting in the left rear seat. Kumar and Ujjawal were discharged after first aid, the police said.

Earlier, the police had said the two critically injured students were identified as Ashwani Mishra and Ashwani Pandey before rectifying their names.

The police said the five friends drove to Zee Town, a pub in Gurugram, on Wednesday to celebrate Pandey's birthday and had drinks.

"While crossing the Geeta Colony flyover, Mishra got distracted while changing the song playing on his mobile phone and lost control of the vehicle. The car collided with the railing at 5.52 am," the police said in a statement.

The police also said they were verifying through which medium Pandey had booked the car.