Chennai: In a suspected case of a fatal accident caused due to drunken driving by the owner of a luxury sedan, a 55-year-old cook was killed in Vadapalani on Saturday night. Police identified the deceased as Baskaran, who was sleeping on the side of Amman Koil street.
Baskaran, a resident of Parameswari colony, used to sleep on the platform due to a domestic issue. He is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son who is working in Australia, police said. T Nagar traffic police team had rushed to the scene and shifted the body to the Royapettah GH for post mortem. “The victim was run over by the car while reversing,” police said.
The driver of the car, which a high end Hyundai model, reportedly abandoned the car after the accident at around 11.45 pm on Saturday and escaped from the scene. Police tracked the registered owner of the Hyundai Sonata using the vehicle registration number (TN07AL9697) but found that the owner had sold it somebody else recently.
“We have identified the driver cum new owner of the car. His address has been traced. But he has not come to his house since last night. It is not yet clear if he was under the influence of alcohol when the accident happened,” police said.
Police also noted that the driver, by absconding for more than 24 hours, had managed to dodge the mandatory alcohol test. “We will not be able to ascertain if he was drunk or not when the accident happened”, police added. Police are confident of nabbing him by Monday.
In another accident involving a luxury sedan, a college student and his four friends suffered injuries when the car jumped over footpath before ramming a tree on the East Coast Road in Injambakkam on Saturday night.
“The engine of the vehicle caught fire and a hut near the accident spot was also gutted in fire. The inmates of the car were later admitted to a private hospital,” police said.
