Family of four, nonagenarian mowed down by sleepy truck driver in Najafgarh

New Delhi: In a fatal freak accident in the Capital, a speeding truck rammed into half-a-dozen cars before mowing down a family of four just metres away from their house, including a 2 and a 6-year-old child, who were heading to catch a bus for a temple in Gurgaon, and a 95-year-old man out for a walk, in Dwarka's Najafgarh in the wee hours of Friday.

The family, all residents of Najafgarh who lived 10 minutes away from the accident spot, were identified as one Ashok (30), wife Kiran (27), sons Ishant (5) and Dev (2). The 95-year-old man, also a resident of Najafgarh and the family's neighbour, was identified as one Jawahar Singh.

As per police officials, at 5:19 am on Friday, a fatal accident call was received at Najafgarh Police Station following which a team rushed to the spot and found that Ashok, his wife Kiran, and son Ishant were lying dead at the spot while Dev and Singh were seriously injured and were rushed to the nearby Vikas Hospital. Both of them later succumbed to their injuries, police added.

In addition, as many as five vehicles were also found damaged at the spot. "The accident was caused by a dumper driven in a rash and negligent manner," DCP (Dwarka) Santosh Kumar Meena said, adding that the driver, identified as one Dinesh (30), has been arrested. He has been booked under a road traffic accident case, the DCP added.

Medical tests of the accused revealed that the driver fell asleep inside the truck following which he lost control of the vehicle, police said.

Meanwhile, at the mortuary at Rao Tularam Memorial Hospital, family and relatives of the deceased grieved the passing of a happy family who were simply going to get god's blessings at the Sitla Temple in Gurgaon before things took a turn for the worse.

Ashok's brother, Manoj, claimed that going to the temple was a ritual for the family and hence it was the same when they headed out on Friday. "Ashok and his family loved going to temples and were even planning to go to the Vaishno Devi Mandir next month…" Manoj told Millennium Post, his eyes welling up.

It was just six months back that Ashok started working as a security guard at Vikas Hospital after he lost his job as a worker at a medical store due to the lockdown. "You can ask anyone, Ashok was very kind-hearted and always actively took part in family functions," he said, while a grief-stricken Gaurav, Ashok's nephew, nodded in agreement.

Ashok and Kiran got married in 2016. Both sons studied at a nearby school. "Ishant was very keen in studies...he had a special bond with my daughter," Mohan added. "They even asked me and my wife to accompany them but my wife denied saying we will go only after Covid reduces…"

Neighbour Khazan Singh lamented: "Honi ko kaun taal sakta hai? (who can change fate?), they went to get god's blessings and look what happened, the elder son's body was decapitated and the younger one's leg was heavily injured too but later he succumbed".

Meanwhile, the 95-year-old's grandson, Diwan, said that Singh was as usual went for his regular morning walk following which they got the news of his accident. "We had just woken up when we got the news...he was an active and fit person with no illness whatsoever, still he faced such a mishap", he said. As per officials, Singh and his family were into contracting business.