With 6 Students Dead, Dehradun Car Crash Shocks Nation: 5 Key Details

Six persons - all under 25 years old - were killed and one was critically injured in a gruesome car accident in Dehradun, Uttarakhand on November 12. The six victims, identified as Guneet (19), Rishabh Jain (24), Navya Goyal (23), Atul Agrawal (24), Kamakshi (20), Kunal Kukreja (23), and one survivor Siddhesh (25), were aboard a Toyota Innova that collided with a truck at around 1:30 a.m. at ONGC Chowk, reports said. Here are five key details about the fatal accident and its aftermath.

What Happened?

Kailash Singh, in charge of the Cantt. Police Station reportedly said that four men and three women, all students in Dehradun, were riding an SUV speeding at over 100 kilometres per hour. Their car rammed into a truck at the ONGC junction, killing six of them on the spot and leaving one critically injured. 

The car was reduced to a mangled mess after the accident. The impact was such that it decapitated two of the victims. The bodies of the victims inside the car had to be taken out by cutting the vehicle apart, according to reports. Their bodies were transported to the mortuaries at Coronation, Doon, and Indresh Hospitals.

Drunk Driving, High-Speed Race: Reports Claim

According to some reports, the friends were returning from a party before the accident. Some videos of the victims drinking at said party before the incident have been circulating on social media. Many reports have also claimed that the seven friends were racing with a BMW at high speed on the road before the collision.

However, the police have not confirmed any of these speculations.

On Survivor In Hospital, Father Appeals

One of the students in the accident is injured and has been admitted to Synergy Hospital in the city. Doctors reported that Siddhesh is in critical condition at present. His father, Vipin Agarwal, has appealed to people to not believe misinformation about the crash. "The investigation is already going on, and the truth will come out. Please don't believe these rumours."

“The public should refrain from spreading half-truths and unverified rumours about the circumstances that led to the accident," the survivor's father said. "We have lost six children. The families of these six children are in such deep distress that we cannot overcome it. One child is in the ICU now, and he is on a ventilator," he added, urging people to have empathy.

The police are awaiting a statement from the survivor about the incidents leading up to the crash.

Visuals Of Aftermath Shared On Social Media, X Takes Down Videos

Gory visuals of the aftermath of the accident were shared online, showing the victims' bodies in an unrecognisable state. The videos were immediately flagged as 'gratuitous gore' and taken down by X (formerly Twitter). According to some reports, the police have urged the media not to share even blurred visuals of the disturbing accident.

X sent a message to a user who uploaded the video: “Violating our rules against posting media depicting gratuitous gore. You may not share excessively graphic media (e.g., severe injuries, torture). Exposure to gratuitous gore can be harmful, especially if the content is posted with intent to delight in cruelty or for sadistic pleasure."

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Orders Road Safety Manual

Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami has reportedly ordered to constitute a committee that can prepare a road-safety manual in the State. He asked the officials to include experts and experienced people on the committee to curb the frequent road accidents in the state recently. 

CM Dhami also instructed officials to ensure the closure of bars and liquor shops within a stipulated time. He said that regular nightchecking should be conducted to stop “drunk driving”, besides action against “over-speeding”. In another fatal accident in Uttarakhand, a bus crash claimed the lives of 36 people in Almora on November 4.