Ludhiana: A pilgrimage turned to tragedy in the early hours of Wednesday when a family's car slammed into an unidentified stationary vehicle on the Ludhiana-Delhi national highway, killing the driver and injuring his teenage son critically.
The accident occurred at about 4:30 a.m. near Sahnewal as the family of four was returning home to Dehradun from the Vaishno Devi shrine. Narendra Kumar, a 46-year-old decorator who was driving the vehicle, died before the ambulance reached the hospital.
His 18-year-old son, Yash, who was in the front passenger seat, suffered severe injuries and remains in critical condition at a specialist hospital in Chandigarh. Narendra's wife, Raatesh, 44, and daughter, Ria, 16, who were in the rear seat, escaped with minor injuries.
Investigators say the vehicle obstructing the highway fled the scene after the impact.
"Passing commuters alerted emergency services and helped pull the family from the wreckage," said the investigating officer, head constable Manjinder Singh. "The offending vehicle was parked illegally on the highway and was driven away before cops arrived."
Sahnewal police have registered a first-information report (FIR) against the unidentified driver under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for rash driving, causing death by negligence, and endangering public safety. A highway search for the vehicle is in progress.
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