Two killed as speeding car crashes into shops at Panchkula

A speeding car claimed two lives after crashing into two shops in the near Majri Chowk, Old Panchkula.

The Mahindra Bolero Neo plowed through a fast-food shop before smashing into a medical store, hitting five people in the process. Two of them, including an 18-year-old boy, Navjot, and 86-year-old Daulat Ram, died. Three others, Gurmeet, Puh Lal and Maninder from Himachal, were injured, sustained injuries but are stable.

Eyewitnesses stated that the vehicle was moving at a high speed when it rammed into the shops.

The driver and the co-passenger fled the scene. Sub-Inspector Pooja from the Sector-2 Police Post, said, “We have identified the driver as Shiva, a resident of Kharag Mangoli village in Haryana. A case has been registered based on a complaint by Rakesh Goyal, the son of the deceased Daulat Ram. The bodies have been sent for post-mortem.”

Navjot’s uncle, Gurmeet, said they were traveling from Nalagarh, Himachal, to Kurukshetra for a pilgrimage. They had stopped at the fast-food shop for tea when the speeding car crashed into them. Navjot had been living with his uncle after losing his parents. Navjot was found trapped under the vehicle’s tyres, while Daulat Ram was crushed between the car and the shop’s wall.

Rakesh Goyal, who owns the medical store, said he had left his father at the shop before going for lunch. He was informed about the accident returned to find his father lying in a pool of blood.

CCTV footage shows three people stepping out of the car when it entered the parking area. A young man from the back seat moved to the driver’s seat and started the vehicle.

The driver then lost control, mowing down four people sitting at the tea shop before crashing into the medical store.