Indore: A 14-year-old girl and her mother died, and three members of her family were injured after their car fell nearly 20 feet into a roadside ditch on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in Ratlam district early Sunday morning.
Accident Details
The family was traveling from Bihar to Surat when the accident occurred around 5 am. The deceased were identified as Deepa Kumari, daughter of Vicky Kumar (35), a resident of Khajuria Bathami village in Bihar's Gopalganj district, and her mother Rani Devi. Vicky and his two sons, Pritam (5) and Piyush (7), were injured and admitted to the medical college hospital for treatment.
Police Statement
ASP Ratlam, Vivek Pal, said that the minor died on the spot, while her mother succumbed to injuries at the hospital on Sunday evening. According to police, the family had left Bihar on Friday evening. On Saturday night, they parked their car along the roadside near a culvert close to the Dhamnod toll plaza on the expressway and slept there. They resumed their journey around 4:30 am on Sunday. About 25 minutes later, the vehicle lost control and crashed.
Sequence of Events
As per preliminary information, the accident took place while a truck was overtaking the car. In an attempt to avoid a collision, the driver moved the vehicle towards the side of the road, lost control, and hit the divider. The car then broke through the railing and fell into the ditch, overturning in the process.
Vicky told police that he was driving at a speed of around 80-90 kmph when a truck overtook the vehicle. The exact sequence of events is being investigated.
Rescue and Aftermath
The family remained trapped inside the overturned vehicle for some time after the crash. Vicky said he managed to break open the car door and pull out his daughter, who had suffered a severe head injury and was unconscious. He then rescued his wife and two sons.
Vicky also claimed that passersby initially did not come forward to help despite his repeated pleas. According to him, some people later alerted emergency services, following which an ambulance reached the spot and shifted the injured to the hospital.
Police and rescue teams later removed the damaged vehicle from the ditch. The deaths were recorded, and bodies will be handed over to the family after an autopsy.
