3 killed, 20 injured after car jumps traffic signal

Three persons were killed and 20 others, including nine children, seriously injured today when a private car jumped the traffic signal before hitting two bikers and several pedestrians here. The speeding car, jumped a red signal near the AJC Bose Road - Belvedere Road crossing near the Police Training School this afternoon, and hit two bikers, police said.

The vehicle then mounted the footpath and knocked down 18 pedestrians, they said. "Twenty-one persons, including the driver of the car, two bikers and pedestrians, suffered injuries and were rushed to the SSKM hospital where two persons were declared 'brought dead' and one succumbed to injuries," a police officer said.

The deceased were identified as 15-year-old Nasima Khatun from South 24-Parganas district's Mutharapur, Rajib Kumar Roy (35) and Susanta Mondal (52) from the district's Ramnagar Mondapara and Sarsuna respectively.

The driver of the car Saroj Kumar Banik (37), a resident of Alipur Park, as well as the two bikers - Shyamal Pal of Rajarhat and Subhojit Sen - from Bangur Avenue were undergoing treatment at the SSKM, the officer said. Fifteen others, including nine children among whom there was a three-year-old boy, were admitted to the state-run medical facility, he said.

The police is awaiting the report of an alcohol test done on the driver of the car, that belongs to a tea company. City Mayor Sovan Chatterjee and state minister for Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Firhad Hakim visited the accident site and the hospital.