30-year-old man arrested for crashing into 10 vehicles in Vadodara: Police

Assistant Commissioner of Police, G Division, MP Bhojani told The Indian Express, “No casualties took place (during the incident) but some people sustained minor injuries, One of the injured persons lodged an FIR on the intervening night on Tuesday”.

“The accused driver was first arrested in a case of Prohibition and released on bail as per provisions and the process of re-arresting him in the case of rash driving is on. Since both sections are bailable offences, the bail will be granted as per the provisions of the law,” said the ACP.

Bhojani added that primary investigation had revealed that the accused worked as a part-time driver for a Dabhoi-based doctor and was driving the doctor’s car to Bhayli in Vadodara city when the accident occurred.

“The car-owner, a doctor, had instructed the accused to pick his family from Bhayli and take them for the ongoing Narmada Parikrama in Narmada district… We have learnt that before crashing into about 10 two-wheelers and an auto, he also collided with a BMW car at a petrol pump near the earlier junction… We have also recovered a bottle of alcohol from the car,” said the ACP.

While the alleged accident spot is reportedly not covered by the CCTV cameras, videos of the incident recorded by bystanders shows the white Maruti Brezza with a damaged left side ramming into the two-wheeler and throwing off the riders. The passersby are then seen surrounding the car and dragging the allegedly inebriated driver out. The video further shows that the accused stumbles and is unable to stand. Two personnel of the Vadodara city police are seen dragging the accused to the PCR van later. The police were also seen carrying the allegedly incapacitated accused into the police station.

Bhojani said, “We have collected the blood samples of the accused as per the process and sent it to FSL for further reports. The impact of the accident was low as most of the vehicles were parked on the roadside without riders and the speed of the car was also slow.”

Bhojani added that the primary probe had revealed that Baria formerly worked as an ambulance driver attached to a hospital run by the Dahoi-based doctor and had been recently “fired from work” due to alleged alcoholism.

“We have learnt that his alcoholism led to the doctor firing him from the ambulance driver’s job. But the doctor used to call him for driving his personal car on certain occasions. Monday was one such day when the doctor had called him in to drive his car to take his family for the Parikrama,” added the ACP.

The accident occurred barely a month after a law student crashed a speeding car into three two-wheelers, killing one and leaving seven others with grievous injuries in Karelibaug area of Vadodara.