Drunken driving accident claims four lives in Chennai

WHEN TRAGEDY STRIKES: The only survivor left is the deceased’s eldor son who is recovering from head injuries in a private hospital.

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Keywords: Rash Driving, East Coast Road

Chennai: A senior business executive, his wife, son and their driver died when a drunk car driver rammed his car into their's on the East Coast Road near Chennai on Tuesday evening.

Ravinder Kulkarni, a senior executive with Tata Consultancy Services, his wife and his 17-year-old son were travelling from Chennai to Pondicherry.

"The driver was under the influence of alcohol and was coming at a very high speed from the opposite direction. We have booked cases on him under 279 (rash and negligent driving), 337 (causing simple injury) and 304(a) (causing death), says Inspector, Mamallapuram Police Station, Vellappan.

"Under these cases and according to the latest Supreme Court ruling, he will definitely be penalized for not less than 10 years," adds Vellappan.

The only survivor was their elder son Ashish who is recovering from head injuries at a private hospital.

"We have incurred a tragic loss. My elder brother, his wife and my younger nephew are all dead. I can only wish that the driver community is more careful when they drive," says the younger brother of the deceased Bhuvanesh Kulkarni.

The police found remains of beer bottles in the car that rammed into Ravinder's car and have arrested the driver, Shivaguru. Police say he was under the influence of alcohol and tried to run away from the accident spot.

Ironically the accident is yet another reminder of the tragic repercussions of drunken driving on the notorious East Coast Road near Chennai.

Instances occurred in the past:

This year alone there have been a spate of drunken driving related incidents and deaths.

• Last week, three teenagers were killed in an accident in Gurgaon. A fourth teen in the car has been charged for drunken driving and is currently out on bail.
• In March 2008, three such incidents took place in Delhi, which claimed the lives of 10 people.
• In February 2008, two students were killed and two others seriosly injured in a car crash near India Gate. They were returning from a party when their car hit a tree.
• In November 2006, seven labourers were killed when a car driven by one Alistair Pereira ran over them at Carter Road in Mumbai.