An eminent businessman of Kolkata in West Bengal died an agonising death when his Ferrari crashed into a road divider on National Highway 6 on Sunday morning (June 3).
The man, who has been identified as Shibaji Roy, was the director of ML Roy & Co Sanitations Pvt Ltd. The mishap took place near Pakuria flyover when Roy was returning from a long drive along with his family and friends, who were also driving high-end sports cars.
Roy's car was the fifth vehicle in the seven-car motorcade which included a Mercedes Benz S Class (SLC 43 AMG), a Lamborghini Gallardo, a Ferrari 488 Spider, a BMW i8, a Porsche Boxster, a Volkswagen Polo GTI and Ferrari California T, which the scion had borrowed from a friend, reported The Times of India.
According to witnesses, the Ferrari took a sharp right turn and rammed into the guardrails of the Pakuria flyover. It is also reported that a truck in front had also suddenly slowed down. The sport car crashed into the iron rail of the bridge, which pierced the engine and struck the businessman in his chest. Even though the airbag was deployed, it failed to save Roy.
As there was no proper equipment to pry open the car and take Roy out, he was stuck in the mangled chassis of the car for about an hour and then breathed his last on the spot. He was declared dead at Calcutta Medical Research Institute on Sunday afternoon.
The daughter of Roy's friend, who was also travelling in the Ferrari, also sustained severe injuries and is undergoing treatment at CMRI.
Meanwhile, the police are trying to determine the cause of the mishap. "We are probing all angles, including if the rider was over-speeding, or had to veer right because of a truck in front," TOI quoted Gaurav Sharma, SP (Rural) of Howrah, as saying.
"But no one remembers the truck's licence plate number and we may have a problem tracing it in the absence of CCTVs in the vicinity," an officer of Domjur police station said.
The 43-year-old deceased is survived by his wife, 17-year-old son, mother and a younger brother.
A #Ferrari crashed in Kolkata this morning. Driver died on the spot. Incidents like these are a stark reminder to drive responsibly, no matter what car you are in! #accident pic.twitter.com/lXKhz4RrDb
— Bhavik Sharma (@bhavik_sharma23) June 3, 2018
Ferrari accident #Howrah #Kolkata pic.twitter.com/N88wEJ05WP
— Ashish Pathak (@ca_ashishpathak) June 3, 2018