Representative image showing a wheelie.
Credit: iStock Photo
Bengaluru: In a tragic head-on collision, two teenage boys doing a wheelie died after crashing into a canter truck near Vijayapura town in Bengaluru Rural on Friday, police said.
Arbaz Pasha (18), one of the deceased boys, had borrowed a Honda Dio (KA 50 EC 3983) from a neighbour in Rahmat Nagar, Vijayapura. Accompanied by his friend N Manoj (16), from Gurappana Mutt in the town, he set out for a joyride on the Devanahalli-Kolar highway. He rode the scooter while Manoj sat on the pillion.
Around 11 am, as the duo rode from Devanahalli towards 'H' Cross, Pasha started doing a wheelie near the Vijayapura town bypass in Doddaballapur. At that moment, a canter truck (KA 02 AH 9390) pulled up directly in front of the scooter. Pasha reportedly lost control, leading to a head-on collision between the scooter and the canter.
The impact was devastating.
Both riders were thrown off the scooter, and landed about 30 metres away. The collision tore the scooter into two, a senior police officer from Bengaluru Rural said.
Pasha died on the spot, while Manoj was taken to a private hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival. The boys did not wear helmets, the officer added.
CCTV cameras installed at nearby roadside shops captured the ghastly crash.
While the police are reviewing the footage to determine if the canter driver was at fault, initial findings suggest that the teenagers were in the wrong.
C K Baba, Superintendent of Police, Bengaluru Rural, said that the Honda Dio owner had been booked. Since Pasha had turned 18 just a month ago, police cannot book his parents, he added.
Nonetheless, Baba warned parents that they would be held responsible if they allow their minor children to drive.
The Vijayapura police have booked Pasha under BNS sections 281 (rash driving on a public way) and 106 (death by negligence). The scooter owner has been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Motor Vehicle Act.
Traffic safety lessons in schools
Baba expressed concern about the rising trend of teenagers doing wheelies and putting lives at risk. This crash was ghastly and called for immediate action, he noted.
“We plan to approach all schools in our jurisdiction and request them to incorporate traffic safety lessons during morning assemblies," Baba told DH.