Weeks after a supercar race in Mumbai's tunnel, a BMW crashed off the Coastal Road, while a woman biker was hit on camera in Gurgaon: The crashes that have India talking about speed
NEW DELHI: From a fatal Mercedes crash in Bengaluru in June to a series of high-speed crashes, alleged hit-and-runs and dangerous driving incidents reported across Indian cities in September, road safety has repeatedly come under the spotlight.
The incidents have involved luxury and high-performance vehicles, two-wheelers, pedestrians and ordinary commuters. In several cases, CCTV footage or videos recorded by victims and motorists have also captured the incidents or helped police piece together what happened.
Here are a few of those cases that left India questioning road safety:
Bengaluru Mercedes crash kills 2A late-night drive in a Mercedes-Benz SUV ended in tragedy near Hoskote in June, when the vehicle crashed into a divider on the Satellite Town Ring Road shortly after midnight, killing two occupants.
Car dealer Rizwan, 30, who was driving the SUV, was thrown out of the vehicle and fell into a water-filled area below the bridge, while his companion, Saajiya, 23, died on the spot.
Police said Rizwan had picked up Saajiya, a resident of Kammanahalli, and driven towards Devanahalli for a late-night dinner.
The two were returning towards Hoskote when the vehicle crashed near Doddahullur, around 1km from the Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway.
The SUV belonged to one of Rizwan’s clients, who had handed it over to him for resale.
The force of the impact left Rizwan’s body in the water below the bridge.
Police and rescue teams launched a search but could not recover him because of darkness. His body was recovered the following morning with the help of fire and emergency services personnel.
Police suspected speeding and reckless driving as the primary causes of the crash and registered a case against Rizwan.
The incident also highlighted the lack of functioning surveillance on the stretch, with an officer saying the solar-powered CCTV cameras on the Satellite Town Ring Road were not working at the time.
Luxury cars allegedly race through Mumbai tunnelOn September 3, Mumbai’s Coastal Road itself became the setting for another alleged high-speed incident, this time involving a group of luxury and high-performance cars.
Around 11.15pm, a motorist travelling through the southbound Coastal Road tunnel near Marine Drive recorded a video showing six to seven high-end cars allegedly speeding together and flouting traffic discipline.
The vehicles seen in the footage reportedly included a black Lamborghini, a yellow BMW M2, a red BMW Z4 and a Volkswagen Virtus.
The video brought the alleged race to the attention of Mumbai Police. Marine Drive police later registered an FIR against the unidentified drivers.
Police said the vehicles were allegedly being driven at excessive speeds in a manner that endangered the lives and safety of other motorists using the tunnel.
A police constable, Nivrutti Sangle, 42, lodged a complaint on behalf of the state. Investigators began examining CCTV footage from inside the tunnel and surrounding areas to establish the identities of the drivers.
Police said the vehicles had been identified and were likely to be taken into custody, although the drivers had not been identified when the case was registered.
The FIR was filed under Sections 281 and 125 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 184 of the Motor Vehicles Act.
Bengaluru BMW bike crash kills techieJust days later, another high-speed crash in Bengaluru claimed the life of a young software engineer.
A 25-year-old software engineer, Naveen Gowda N, was killed after a BMW RR sports bike allegedly travelling at high speed rammed into a Swift Dzire near Chikkasanne Gate on NH-44 late on September 5.
Naveen was travelling with friends returning from a dinner party at a dhaba near Devanahalli.
Around 11.50pm, as their car was taking a turn towards Chikkasanne village, the BMW allegedly came at high speed and crashed into the front-left door of the car.
The impact badly damaged the car. Naveen, who was seated beside the driver, suffered fatal head and body injuries. His friend Avinash, 26, who was seated in the rear, suffered an injury near his left eye.
The biker, identified as Rakesh Chaudhary, was thrown onto the road along with the motorcycle and suffered injuries. He was later discharged from the hospital and was at large when TOI reported the incident.
Police seized both vehicles and registered a case against Chaudhary for alleged overspeeding and negligent riding causing death.
Police said they had yet to ascertain whether he was under the influence of alcohol and would know more after apprehending him.
The crash once again brought the risks associated with high-speed motorcycles into focus, this time involving a sports bike and a car carrying a group of friends.
Woman biker allegedly hit in GurgaonIn Gurgaon, a video recorded by a woman biker’s motorcycle-mounted camera turned another alleged road-rage incident into a widely discussed case.
The woman, who initially identified herself as Sia, alleged that a car repeatedly followed her while she was riding with friends from Golf Course Road towards Bikerburns on Sunday.
According to her account, the driver asked her to stop and continued following her despite her asking the occupants to maintain distance. She also alleged that the people inside the car appeared to be drunk.
The camera mounted on her motorcycle appears to show the car coming into contact with her bike before driving away.
Sia said one of her friends followed the car and confronted its driver at a traffic signal, but the driver denied responsibility and left the spot.
She shared the vehicle’s registration number online and appealed to Gurgaon Police to identify the occupants and take action.
Gurgaon Police took suo motu cognisance of the viral video and said the accused would be identified and arrested at the earliest. A case was registered at Sector 56 police station.
The case then took a more serious turn.
Police arrested car driver Kalyan Singh Bainsla from Rajasthan and also arrested his cousin Lavnish. Police added an attempt-to-murder charge after examining the video and formed a five-member SIT to investigate the incident.
Investigators said the accused allegedly followed Chauhan for around 2km and asked her to stop before the car allegedly rammed her motorcycle.
Police also took the two accused to the spot to reconstruct the sequence of events.
Bainsla’s side later claimed the collision was accidental and that he had fled fearing confrontation with the bikers. Police said he had been returning from a club with friends and were yet to ascertain whether the occupants were drunk.
A court subsequently sent Bainsla and Lavnish to 14 days’ judicial custody.
Sia, whose real name is Shivani Chauhan, later said she was still recovering from the incident and undergoing medical tests to rule out internal injuries.
Neurosurgeon dies after car hits divider, catches fireOn September 20, a road crash in Telangana claimed the life of a neurosurgeon when his car veered off the road, hit a barrier and burst into flames.
Dr K Jagadeesh Babu, 50, who worked at a private hospital in Khammam, was travelling to Hyderabad, where his family lived, when the accident occurred around 7.15am near the Pillalamarri flyover on the Hyderabad-Khammam national highway.
Police suspected that the doctor may have dozed off because of sleep deprivation and lost control of the vehicle. The car hit the service road barrier and was engulfed in flames within minutes.
By the time police reached the spot after being alerted by locals, the vehicle had been reduced to a burnt-out shell. Jagadeesh was trapped inside and died in the fire.
The charred condition of the body initially made identification difficult. Police later confirmed his identity and shifted the body to Suryapet Government General Hospital for postmortem.
Police registered a case under Section 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and said they were examining CCTV footage from toll plazas along the Khammam-Hyderabad route.
Investigators were also checking whether a technical problem with the vehicle could have contributed to the crash.
BMW crashes off Mumbai Coastal Road, 3 killedThe same day, Mumbai’s Coastal Road witnessed another fatal crash involving a BMW, just days after the alleged luxury-car race inside its tunnel.
Around 5.20am on Sunday, a BMW travelling from Marine Drive towards Haji Ali crashed through the edge of a bridge near Lotus Jetty in Worli and plunged about 75 metres into an under-construction site.
CCTV footage showed the car speeding before it went through the barrier and fell from the second-level ramp, a height of about 70ft. Police said the driver appeared to have lost control while speeding.
Three occupants were killed: Dhairya Sheth, 17, Aditya Jakasania, 19, and Shanay Gajjar, 21, who was driving his family car.
Aditya Oswal, 23, survived but suffered multiple injuries and was undergoing treatment at BYL Nair Hospital.
All four were from Gujarat and were studying at two colleges in Mumbai. Gajjar and Oswal were studying architecture at a college in Kurla, while Sheth and Jakasania were students at a management college in the western suburbs.
They were staying in hostels or as paying guests in Santacruz and Juhu.
The crash was first reported after a motorist alerted the police control room that a vehicle had fallen from the road. A police team searching for the exact location was guided by a watchman who had witnessed the accident.
The impact was severe.
One victim was thrown about 20ft from the car, while another was found outside the vehicle. Police said Gajjar, who was driving, was still partly inside the car, with his leg on the accelerator. All airbags had deployed.
Police traced the BMW through its registration number and contacted Gajjar’s father.
Blood samples of the victims were collected and were to be sent to the Kalina Forensic Science Laboratory. Police said cases under relevant provisions for causing death by negligence and rash and negligent driving would be registered.
The crash also raised the broader safety issue on the Coastal Road.
TOI reported that at least six people had died in accidents on the Coastal Road since it opened in March 2024, with the toll rising to seven if the connected BKC stretch was included.
Jaipur hit-and-run kills 57-year-oldIn Jaipur, a speeding vehicle allegedly turned another routine morning commute into a fatal hit-and-run.
Naval Sharma, 57, a resident of Chaudhary Nagar in Buddhi Singhpura, Sanganer, had left home around 6am on Saturday on his scooter for work.
Near the Hanuman Temple close to the Choolgiri Restaurant area, a speeding black car allegedly hit his scooter. Sharma suffered serious injuries and was taken for medical treatment, but later succumbed to his injuries.
The driver allegedly fled without stopping.
Police later found CCTV footage showing the black-coloured vehicle and began collecting footage from other cameras around the area to reconstruct its route after the crash and identify those travelling in it.
A case was registered, and police said efforts were underway to identify and locate the vehicle and arrest the accused. Sharma’s body was handed over to his family after the postmortem on Sunday.
A pattern caught on cameraThe circumstances of these crashes vary, but a common thread runs through several of them: cameras and videos have increasingly become crucial in establishing what happened on the road.
In Bengaluru, police suspected speeding and reckless driving in the Mercedes crash, while a case of alleged overspeeding and negligent riding was registered after the BMW bike crash.
In Mumbai, a motorist’s video brought the alleged luxury-car race inside the Coastal Road tunnel to police attention, while CCTV footage later captured the BMW speeding before its fatal plunge.
In Gurgaon, a biker’s own camera captured the moment her motorcycle was allegedly hit, with the footage later becoming central to the police investigation.
The case subsequently saw the accused arrested, an attempt-to-murder charge added and a crime-scene reconstruction.
In Jaipur, CCTV footage is now being used to trace a vehicle that allegedly fled after hitting a scooter.
In Telangana, police are examining toll-plaza footage as they investigate whether sleep deprivation or a possible technical issue contributed to the fatal crash.
The incidents also show how different forms of dangerous driving can have devastating consequences: high-performance cars allegedly racing on a public road, sports bikes travelling at high speeds, vehicles allegedly involved in road rage, and ordinary commuters being caught in collisions.
For police, however, each remains a separate case.
The exact circumstances, responsibility and applicable offences will have to be established through the respective investigations.
The incidents have involved luxury and high-performance vehicles, two-wheelers, pedestrians and ordinary commuters. In several cases, CCTV footage or videos recorded by victims and motorists have also captured the incidents or helped police piece together what happened.
Here are a few of those cases that left India questioning road safety:
Bengaluru Mercedes crash kills 2A late-night drive in a Mercedes-Benz SUV ended in tragedy near Hoskote in June, when the vehicle crashed into a divider on the Satellite Town Ring Road shortly after midnight, killing two occupants.
Car dealer Rizwan, 30, who was driving the SUV, was thrown out of the vehicle and fell into a water-filled area below the bridge, while his companion, Saajiya, 23, died on the spot.
The two were returning towards Hoskote when the vehicle crashed near Doddahullur, around 1km from the Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway.
The SUV belonged to one of Rizwan’s clients, who had handed it over to him for resale.
The force of the impact left Rizwan’s body in the water below the bridge.
Police and rescue teams launched a search but could not recover him because of darkness. His body was recovered the following morning with the help of fire and emergency services personnel.
Police suspected speeding and reckless driving as the primary causes of the crash and registered a case against Rizwan.
The incident also highlighted the lack of functioning surveillance on the stretch, with an officer saying the solar-powered CCTV cameras on the Satellite Town Ring Road were not working at the time.
Luxury cars allegedly race through Mumbai tunnelOn September 3, Mumbai’s Coastal Road itself became the setting for another alleged high-speed incident, this time involving a group of luxury and high-performance cars.
Around 11.15pm, a motorist travelling through the southbound Coastal Road tunnel near Marine Drive recorded a video showing six to seven high-end cars allegedly speeding together and flouting traffic discipline.
The vehicles seen in the footage reportedly included a black Lamborghini, a yellow BMW M2, a red BMW Z4 and a Volkswagen Virtus.
The video brought the alleged race to the attention of Mumbai Police. Marine Drive police later registered an FIR against the unidentified drivers.
Police said the vehicles were allegedly being driven at excessive speeds in a manner that endangered the lives and safety of other motorists using the tunnel.
A police constable, Nivrutti Sangle, 42, lodged a complaint on behalf of the state. Investigators began examining CCTV footage from inside the tunnel and surrounding areas to establish the identities of the drivers.
Police said the vehicles had been identified and were likely to be taken into custody, although the drivers had not been identified when the case was registered.
The FIR was filed under Sections 281 and 125 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 184 of the Motor Vehicles Act.
Bengaluru BMW bike crash kills techieJust days later, another high-speed crash in Bengaluru claimed the life of a young software engineer.
A 25-year-old software engineer, Naveen Gowda N, was killed after a BMW RR sports bike allegedly travelling at high speed rammed into a Swift Dzire near Chikkasanne Gate on NH-44 late on September 5.
Naveen was travelling with friends returning from a dinner party at a dhaba near Devanahalli.
Around 11.50pm, as their car was taking a turn towards Chikkasanne village, the BMW allegedly came at high speed and crashed into the front-left door of the car.
The impact badly damaged the car. Naveen, who was seated beside the driver, suffered fatal head and body injuries. His friend Avinash, 26, who was seated in the rear, suffered an injury near his left eye.
The biker, identified as Rakesh Chaudhary, was thrown onto the road along with the motorcycle and suffered injuries. He was later discharged from the hospital and was at large when TOI reported the incident.
Police seized both vehicles and registered a case against Chaudhary for alleged overspeeding and negligent riding causing death.
Police said they had yet to ascertain whether he was under the influence of alcohol and would know more after apprehending him.
The crash once again brought the risks associated with high-speed motorcycles into focus, this time involving a sports bike and a car carrying a group of friends.
Woman biker allegedly hit in GurgaonIn Gurgaon, a video recorded by a woman biker’s motorcycle-mounted camera turned another alleged road-rage incident into a widely discussed case.
The woman, who initially identified herself as Sia, alleged that a car repeatedly followed her while she was riding with friends from Golf Course Road towards Bikerburns on Sunday.
According to her account, the driver asked her to stop and continued following her despite her asking the occupants to maintain distance. She also alleged that the people inside the car appeared to be drunk.
The camera mounted on her motorcycle appears to show the car coming into contact with her bike before driving away.
Sia said one of her friends followed the car and confronted its driver at a traffic signal, but the driver denied responsibility and left the spot.
She shared the vehicle’s registration number online and appealed to Gurgaon Police to identify the occupants and take action.
Gurgaon Police took suo motu cognisance of the viral video and said the accused would be identified and arrested at the earliest. A case was registered at Sector 56 police station.
The case then took a more serious turn.
Investigators said the accused allegedly followed Chauhan for around 2km and asked her to stop before the car allegedly rammed her motorcycle.
Police also took the two accused to the spot to reconstruct the sequence of events.
Bainsla’s side later claimed the collision was accidental and that he had fled fearing confrontation with the bikers. Police said he had been returning from a club with friends and were yet to ascertain whether the occupants were drunk.
A court subsequently sent Bainsla and Lavnish to 14 days’ judicial custody.
Sia, whose real name is Shivani Chauhan, later said she was still recovering from the incident and undergoing medical tests to rule out internal injuries.
Neurosurgeon dies after car hits divider, catches fireOn September 20, a road crash in Telangana claimed the life of a neurosurgeon when his car veered off the road, hit a barrier and burst into flames.
Dr K Jagadeesh Babu, 50, who worked at a private hospital in Khammam, was travelling to Hyderabad, where his family lived, when the accident occurred around 7.15am near the Pillalamarri flyover on the Hyderabad-Khammam national highway.
By the time police reached the spot after being alerted by locals, the vehicle had been reduced to a burnt-out shell. Jagadeesh was trapped inside and died in the fire.
The charred condition of the body initially made identification difficult. Police later confirmed his identity and shifted the body to Suryapet Government General Hospital for postmortem.
Police registered a case under Section 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and said they were examining CCTV footage from toll plazas along the Khammam-Hyderabad route.
Investigators were also checking whether a technical problem with the vehicle could have contributed to the crash.
BMW crashes off Mumbai Coastal Road, 3 killedThe same day, Mumbai’s Coastal Road witnessed another fatal crash involving a BMW, just days after the alleged luxury-car race inside its tunnel.
Around 5.20am on Sunday, a BMW travelling from Marine Drive towards Haji Ali crashed through the edge of a bridge near Lotus Jetty in Worli and plunged about 75 metres into an under-construction site.
Three occupants were killed: Dhairya Sheth, 17, Aditya Jakasania, 19, and Shanay Gajjar, 21, who was driving his family car.
Aditya Oswal, 23, survived but suffered multiple injuries and was undergoing treatment at BYL Nair Hospital.
All four were from Gujarat and were studying at two colleges in Mumbai. Gajjar and Oswal were studying architecture at a college in Kurla, while Sheth and Jakasania were students at a management college in the western suburbs.
They were staying in hostels or as paying guests in Santacruz and Juhu.
The crash was first reported after a motorist alerted the police control room that a vehicle had fallen from the road. A police team searching for the exact location was guided by a watchman who had witnessed the accident.
The impact was severe.
One victim was thrown about 20ft from the car, while another was found outside the vehicle. Police said Gajjar, who was driving, was still partly inside the car, with his leg on the accelerator. All airbags had deployed.
Police traced the BMW through its registration number and contacted Gajjar’s father.
Blood samples of the victims were collected and were to be sent to the Kalina Forensic Science Laboratory. Police said cases under relevant provisions for causing death by negligence and rash and negligent driving would be registered.
The crash also raised the broader safety issue on the Coastal Road.
TOI reported that at least six people had died in accidents on the Coastal Road since it opened in March 2024, with the toll rising to seven if the connected BKC stretch was included.
Jaipur hit-and-run kills 57-year-oldIn Jaipur, a speeding vehicle allegedly turned another routine morning commute into a fatal hit-and-run.
Naval Sharma, 57, a resident of Chaudhary Nagar in Buddhi Singhpura, Sanganer, had left home around 6am on Saturday on his scooter for work.
Near the Hanuman Temple close to the Choolgiri Restaurant area, a speeding black car allegedly hit his scooter. Sharma suffered serious injuries and was taken for medical treatment, but later succumbed to his injuries.
The driver allegedly fled without stopping.
Police later found CCTV footage showing the black-coloured vehicle and began collecting footage from other cameras around the area to reconstruct its route after the crash and identify those travelling in it.
A case was registered, and police said efforts were underway to identify and locate the vehicle and arrest the accused. Sharma’s body was handed over to his family after the postmortem on Sunday.
A pattern caught on cameraThe circumstances of these crashes vary, but a common thread runs through several of them: cameras and videos have increasingly become crucial in establishing what happened on the road.
In Bengaluru, police suspected speeding and reckless driving in the Mercedes crash, while a case of alleged overspeeding and negligent riding was registered after the BMW bike crash.
In Mumbai, a motorist’s video brought the alleged luxury-car race inside the Coastal Road tunnel to police attention, while CCTV footage later captured the BMW speeding before its fatal plunge.
In Gurgaon, a biker’s own camera captured the moment her motorcycle was allegedly hit, with the footage later becoming central to the police investigation.
The case subsequently saw the accused arrested, an attempt-to-murder charge added and a crime-scene reconstruction.
In Jaipur, CCTV footage is now being used to trace a vehicle that allegedly fled after hitting a scooter.
In Telangana, police are examining toll-plaza footage as they investigate whether sleep deprivation or a possible technical issue contributed to the fatal crash.
The incidents also show how different forms of dangerous driving can have devastating consequences: high-performance cars allegedly racing on a public road, sports bikes travelling at high speeds, vehicles allegedly involved in road rage, and ordinary commuters being caught in collisions.
For police, however, each remains a separate case.
The exact circumstances, responsibility and applicable offences will have to be established through the respective investigations.
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