‘Who Will Care…?’: Delhi teen’s drunk driving wrecks family

Delhi: A broken charpoy, three soft toys, and a pair of tiny blue shoes lay scattered at a jhuggi in west Delhi –  Janakpuri—evidence of the tragedy that struck a family here when a drunk 19-year-old lost control of his speeding car in the early hours of Thursday.

Soni (25), who is six-months pregnant, was sleeping on the charpoy with her five-year-old nephew Vishal in their roadside dwelling when the car ran over them. Her husband, Phool Singh, who was resting on the floor nearby, died on the spot after the vehicle crashed into the jhuggi.

Phool Singh (30) was among the two persons who died in the accident. Three others, including the pregnant Soni and Vishal, were injured in the incident. Soni’s unborn child has also survived.

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His mother, surrounded by the family’s scattered belongings and the crushed charpoy, cried inconsolably. “What will happen to us now? Who will take care of his children? My world has collapsed.”

Singh, who earned a living making chutney and masala, is survived by four children—two sons aged around seven and five, and two daughters aged about 10 and two years. Soni is three months away from delivering their fifth child.

“Soni hasn’t spoken much because of the pain she’s in—and more so because of the grief. Her unborn child is safe for now, but if her condition doesn’t improve, we fear for her life too,” her sister-in-law told PTI.

Soni and Vishal were discharged from the hospital later in the day. Locals said the family, who had been living in a roadside jhuggi for generations, had recently shifted closer to the road due to repair work of a drain.

“She keeps calling her elder son to come close and holds his hand without saying anything,” the sister-in-law added. “The children still think their father is in the hospital. They have no idea he’s gone.”

Relatives said Vishal arrived from Uttar Pradesh only hours before the tragedy to stay with his maternal grandparents. His parents are now on their way to take him back.

Locals recounted that the speeding car first hit a cyclist near a temple on Pankha Road and locals claimed he was dragged by the vehicle for nearly 300 metres before it rammed into the Soni’s jhuggi.

“Had the car not hit a parked motorcycle, it would have kept going and hit more people,” said Arun (20), who lives in a nearby jhuggi.

Locals claimed the vehicle had two occupants, both of whom were allegedly very drunk. They said they managed to pull the duo out of the car and handed them over to police.

A call regarding the incident was received at the Janakpuri police station around 3.30 am, following which a PCR team and local police rushed to the spot and took the injured to a hospital, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Vichitra Veer said in a statement.

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“Two of the victims were declared dead. Two others are undergoing treatment,” he said.

A preliminary probe revealed the vehicle was being driven by a 19-year-old youth. Legal action is being taken, police said, adding that the driver has been apprehended and is being questioned.