Two critical in Mumbai drunk driving accident

Mumbai, April 1 (IANS) Two girls continued to be critical Sunday, a day after their drunk friend, who was driving the car they were in, rammed the vehicle into a tree, police said. A third teenaged girl who was also in the car succumbed to severe head injuries.

Rahul Mishra, 23, who was drunk, lost control of his car and rammed it into a tree early Saturday, police said here Sunday. He escaped with minor injuries and has been remanded in police custody till April 4.

There were two other boys in the car. Of them, Krishna Thewar was badly injured but is out of danger and Amit Gupta suffered minor injuries.

"Mishra was driving under the influence of alcohol. It appears the others had also consumed alcohol," said Deputy Commissioner of Police Pratap Digavkar.

The car turned turtle several times, hit a divider and collided with a stationary auto- rickshaw, whose driver sustained minor injuries.

However, 18-year-old Shivani Rawat died after she was admitted to a Mumbai hospital owing to severe head injuries. Doctors treating her said she had had a heart surgery earlier due to which her heart stopped thrice in two hours while she was being treated.

Another teenager, Nimisha Mane, who was first taken to a Bandra hospital was later shifted to Nanavati hospital in northwest Mumbai, slipped into coma due to severe brain damage. Mane is currently on a ventilator and has suffered a skull bone fracture.

Their friend Priyanka Rai, 22, is still admitted in the ICU.

This is the second incident involving drunk driving in less than a week. On March 25, Ra.One animator Charu Khandal was among three people hurt when a drunk driver slammed his car into the auto-rickshaw in which they were travelling.