An incident of drunk driving in Bengaluru on Thursday has left the rider dead and injured the pillion rider. 47-year-old Vijay, who was in an inebriated condition, was driving his two-wheeler in Bengaluru’s Pulikeshi Nagar, when the vehicle skidded, leading to Vijay’s death.
The incident took place around 6:30 pm on Thursday and a complaint was lodged in Pulikeshinagar Traffic Police Station.
According to the police, Vijay and the pillion rider Lawrence had both consumed alcohol and both of them were riding on the Honda Activa without helmets.
“Vijay was riding extremely fast and recklessly, which led to him losing control of the vehicle and resulted in them falling off the two-wheeler. The incident took place in front of the Arun Ice Cream shop near St John Church,” Inspector Sandeep H of Pulikeshinagar Traffic Police Station in a statement.
The statement further revealed that the fall led to Vijay sustaining injuries on his head and Lawrence was left with bruises and minor injuries on his head and arms. When both of them were taken to Santosh Hospital for treatment, the doctors pronounced Vijay dead.
Speaking to TNM, Inspector Sandeep said “The post mortem revealed that Vijay was addicted to alcohol and also had major lung issues. Though he had not sustained any severe head injuries, he died. The doctors believe his body had become very weak and couldn’t take the impact.”
A case has been registered based on the complaint of pillion Lawrence under Indian Penal Code IPC Section 279 (Rash driving or riding on a public way), 304 (a) [Causing death by negligence] and Indian Motor Vehicle Act Section 185 (Driving by a drunken person or by a person under the influence of drugs).
According to official data, in 2019, 766 drunk driving incidents were recorded in Bengaluru. In 2020, with reduced motor vehicle movement due to the COVID-19 induced lockdown, this number fell to 647. In 2021, till February, 116 people have died and 565 have been injured in drunk driving incidents, according to the data released by the Bengaluru Traffic Police.