Four people were injured and four cars were damaged in a major road accident on the S.G. Highway near the Sargasan crossroads late on Friday night. Moments after the collision, a Hyundai Creta involved in the crash caught fire, triggering panic among motorists and causing heavy traffic congestion.
According to preliminary information, the Hyundai Creta was travelling at high speed when its driver allegedly lost control of the vehicle and rammed into cars moving ahead. The impact was so severe that a Mahindra electric vehicle (EV) was pushed forward and crashed into an Innova, resulting in a chain collision involving four vehicles.
All four cars sustained extensive damage in the accident.
Soon after the crash, the Creta burst into flames. On receiving information, a team from the Gandhinagar Fire Brigade rushed to the spot and extinguished the blaze. However, by the time the fire was brought under control, the Creta had been completely gutted.
The accident led to long traffic snarls on the busy highway as vehicles piled up on both sides of the road. Local residents and passing motorists, who rushed to the scene after hearing the impact, rescued four injured occupants from the accident-hit vehicles before the fire spread further. The injured were shifted to a nearby hospital in a 108 ambulance for treatment. Police said the condition of one of the injured persons is critical.
A team from the Gandhinagar Sector-7 Police Station also reached the spot and cleared the damaged vehicles with the help of a crane before restoring traffic movement on the highway.
Police have registered a case and launched an investigation into the incident. Investigators are examining all aspects of the crash, including the exact cause of the accident, the speed of the vehicles involved and whether the driver of the Creta was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the collision.