Mumbai: Two college students die after their speeding car crashes into divider on Western Express Highway

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A police official on Tuesday said that two first-year college students died when their car crashed into a divider on the Western Express Highway (WEH) at a high speed in Mumbai's Vile-Parle area, reported news agency PTI.

According to the Vile-Parle police station official, the deceased, Sartak Kaushik, a science student at a local college, and BBA student Jalaj Dhir (both 18), were seated in the rear during an outing with their friends BBA pupils Jedan Jimmy and Sahil Menda (both 18), who survived the crash on Saturday, reported PTI.

The group was returning to Goregaon from Bandra with takeaway food when the accident occurred, he said.

Menda, a first-year BBA student, was at the wheel and reportedly driving at 120-150 kmph speed when he lost control of the car while trying to reach a service road in Vile Parle (East) and crashed into the divider, said the official, reported PTI.

Following his arrest, Menda explained that his indecision between taking a Western Express Highway flyover and the service road towards Goregaon resulted in the accident, he said, reported PTI.

Menda has been charged under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including those related to causing death by negligence, endangering the life or personal safety of others, and the Motor Vehicles Act, reported PTI.

Police were awaiting blood test results to determine if he was drunk at the time of the accident, he added.

Student killed, several injured as school picnic bus overturns

Meanwhile, a student was killed and several students and teachers were injured as the bus carrying them to a picnic spot overturned near Nagpur on Tuesday morning, police said, reported PTI.

The accident took place when students and teachers of Saraswati High School in the Shankar Nagar area here were heading for a picnic spot in neighbouring Wardha district in five buses.

One of the buses, with some 50 persons on board, overturned near Deoli Pendhari village on Hingani Road in a hilly section on the outskirts of the city, said an official of Hingna police station, reported PTI.

The deceased boy was a Class 7 student, he said, without disclosing the name. A girl and a teacher sustained severe injuries and were rushed to the All India Institute Of Medical Sciences, Nagpur, while others were taken to a nearby rural hospital, reported PTI.

Investigation is underway to determine the cause of the accident, police said.

(With inputs from PTI)