Kolkata was shaken by two back-to-back road accidents on Wednesday, one in the heart of the city and another in the eastern fringes, leaving two municipal workers critically injured and a young motorcyclist dead.
Early in the morning, a high-end sports car, speeding from the Race Course side towards Red Road, lost control and rammed into two sweepers who were engaged in cleaning work along the roadside, police said. The impact flung both workers several feet away, leaving them with grievous injuries. They were rushed to hospital, where their condition is stated to be critical.
The car then skidded further and came to a halt only after smashing into a lamp post. Both occupants of the vehicle — identified by police as the owner of a well-known automobile showroom in Kolkata and his son — also sustained injuries and were admitted to hospital. The vehicle suffered extensive damage. Officers of Hastings police station have begun a probe to determine whether speeding or any other violation led to the accident.
Investigators are examining CCTV footage from the stretch and have initiated mechanical inspection of the damaged vehicle. Preliminary findings suggest that the car was travelling at a very high speed along the otherwise regulated corridor. Meanwhile, in a separate incident late on Tuesday night, a 25-year-old motorcyclist died after a collision on the EM Bypass near the Survey Park police station area. The accident occurred around 2 a.m. when the motorcycle crashed into a stationary vehicle. The rider, identified as Alokesh Das of Narendrapur, was thrown off the bike due to the force of the impact and died on the spot, police said.
The body was sent for post-mortem examination, and an unnatural death case has been registered. Police are trying to ascertain whether low visibility or high speed contributed to the crash. Both incidents have once again raised concerns over speeding on major city arteries, prompting police to intensify patrols and surveillance on vulnerable stretches.