‘6 beer bottles, late-night race’: Speeding Fortuner kills mother, son selling sofa covers

AHMEDABAD: Two people, including a 15-year-old boy, were killed and two others seriously injured after a speeding Fortuner allegedly driven by an intoxicated man rammed into a family selling sofa covers on a footpath near Devashya School in the Nikol area of Ahmedabad. The incident took place when a woman and her son were selling sofa covers ahead of Diwali, news agency ANI reporetd. A couple, Kartik Vasoya and his wife, had arrived to make a purchase when the car lost control and hit them, DCP (Traffic-East) said. The deceased have been identified as Punamben Jitendrabhai Nagvadiya, 30, and her son Sagar Jitendrabhai Nagvadiya, 15. The injured are Kartik Ashokbhai Vasoya, 34, and his wife Snehalben Kartikbhai Vasoya, 34. The accused has been identified as Viral Savjibhai Chaudhary, 36, a resident of Nana Chiloda. He was driving his own car at the time of the accident. Police have taken him into custody. During an inspection of the vehicle, police recovered six bottles of beer. Two separate complaints have been filed in connection with the incident. A case has been registered at the traffic police station under the Motor Vehicles Act, while a separate complaint under the Prohibition Act has been lodged at Nikol police station over the recovery of beer, ANI reported. DCP (Traffic-East) said police were examining whether the driver was under the influence of intoxicants at the time of the accident. The incident comes amid concerns over speeding and alleged late-night racing in the area. Residents have claimed that such incidents are frequent and alleged that police have failed to curb the menace. (With agency inputs)