An Air India air hostess was killed in a car accident in New Delhi in yet another grim reminder of fatalities on the city's roads caused by rash driving. The mishap occurred on the NH-8 Rajokri flyover near Gurgaon border at around 5 a.m. on Friday.
Shakambri Zutshi Dhar, the 36-year-old air hostess, was travelling in her office cab on Friday morning. Two other vehicles, a truck and another car were ahead of her taxi; all three vehicles were being driven at high speed.
When the vehicles were at the flyover near Mahipalpur, the truck driver applied brake all of a sudden, causing the second vehicle (Toyota Innova) to ram into it. The cab, in which air hostess Dhar was seated in the rear seat, in turn crashed into the Innova.
Dhar, her cab driver and two occupants of the Innova, including the driver, were hurt in the mishap . The air hostess died on the spot, while the condition of her cab driver was reported as "critical."
"The incident happened between 4.30 am and 5 am on the Rajokri flyover. The truck driver, who was driving ahead of the two cars — Innova and Indigo — suddenly applied the brakes causing the Innova to ram into the truck and the Indigo to ram into the Innova," Nupur Prasad, additional DCP-I (South), Delhi Police, was quoted as saying by The Asian Age.
The police have registered a case against the truck driver who is absconding.
The air hostess' death could not have come at a more tragic time. Her husband is undergoing treatment for blood cancer. The couple has a seven-year-old son.
Delhi, which has a road length measuring 33,198 km, has a disturbing record of road accidents. In calendar year 2015, 1,622 people were killed and 8,258 were injured in 8,085 accidents. The previous year, 8,623 accidents claimed 1,671 lives besides injuring 8,283 people.
In 2015, 4.30 lakh vehicles were registered, down from 5.74 lakh in the previous year.
