Intoxicated man ploughs SUV into pedestrians near Mall of Asia, several injured

Four people were injured after an SUV ploughed into pedestrians near the Mall of Asia at Yelahanka-Sahakar Nagar on the New Year’s eve on Wednesday.

According to the Sanjay Nagar traffic police, the incident occurred at Gate No. 3 at the rear side of the mall around 10.15 p.m., where the police had deployed personnel to regulate traffic in view of the New Year celebrations.

According to the complaint filed by head constable Gangadhar Gurav, an SUV sped out of the mall.

The driver, identified as Sunil Kumar Singh, 48, drove allegedly under the influence of alcohol, lost control of the vehicle, crashed into iron barricades installed on the footpath, before knocking down pedestrians walking along the road. The injured were identified as Akamma, 30, Chandrashekar, 36, Rajalakshmi, 53, Prajwal Shashidhar Chavadi, 27.

A minor girl, who was run over by the vehicle, miraculously escaped with minor injuries.

All the injured were rushed to a private hospital. The police said the accident was caused due to rash and negligent driving by the SUV driver.

The complaint also accused the Mall of Asia management of failing to implement adequate safety measures despite heavy crowd movement during the New Year celebrations.

A case has been registered, and legal action would be initiated against the driver and the management under section 281 (rash or negligent driving/riding on a public way), 125(a) endangering life or personal safety through rash or negligent acts, and also under section 185 (drunk or drug-influenced driving) of the Motor Vehicles Act, the police said.