Hours after a speeding car crashed into a slum in West Delhi’s Pankha Road, a group of jhuggi dwellers gathered in the area to recall the horror that had unfolded in the early hours of Thursday. “We heard a huge crash and people were shouting.we woke up to see that Phool Singh’s jhuggi was completely flattened.we first rescued the children in the house and went to help Soni (his wife) because she is pregnant.one of her legs was crushed," recounted Shakuntala, Phool Singh's aunt. Phool Singh (30), a grindstone maker and seller, was one of the two people killed when a 19-year-old boy allegedly rammed his car into two cyclists around 3:30 am and then crashed the vehicle into his hut on the roadside, said police, adding that the teen has been apprehended. Phool Singh’s seven-month pregnant wife, Soni (25), their five-year-old nephew, Vishal, and a cyclist were injured in the incident. Recalling how locals caught hold of the accused after the accident, Ankit, a slum dweller, said, “People surrounded his car and were beating the driver. We managed to drag Phool Singh and another man (the cyclist) out from under the tyres of the vehicle. We took them to Mata Chanan Devi Hospital. But the doctors said they were already dead," said Ankit, a jhuggi dweller. The teen, police said, was driving back home from a friend's birthday party in Gurgaon. He was allegedly drunk, said officers, when he hit the first two victims — Anish Ansari (45) and Kuldeep (28). They were both riding bicycles. While Kuldeep was injured, Ansari was dragged roughly 200 metres before the car crashed into huts on the roadside. "My daughter-in-law's leg is completely mangled and Vishal is so traumatised that he can't utter a word," said Guddi, Phool Singh's mother, who also lives in the slum cluster. The condition of those injured is being monitored, said officials. According to the police, the teen was accompanied by a friend. They were not injured during the incident. Both men had driving licences, police said. An FIR has been registered against the accused at Janakpuri police station, under BNS sections 281 (rash or negligent driving), 125(a) (act endangering life or personal safety of others), and 106(1) (causing death by negligence), along with section 185 (driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs) of the Motor Vehicle Act.
