Vadodara car crash: Accused denies drunk driving, blames potholes
What's the story
23-year-old law student Rakshit Ravish Chaurasia has been arrested for a fatal car crash in Vadodara that killed a woman and injured eight others.
Chaurasia has been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Eyewitnesses reported that he was shouting 'another round' after the crash, which, along with other factors, prompted police to suspect he was intoxicated when he crashed.
Defense
Chaurasia denies allegations of drunk driving
Chaurasia has strongly denied accusations of being drunk at the time of the mishap. According to him, his airbags deployed suddenly, blocking his view and making him lose control of the car.
"We were going ahead of the scooty, we were turning right and there was a pothole on the road," he explained.
"The car slightly touched the other vehicle and our vision was hampered."
Incident report
Details of the accident
The accident happened at about 12:30am near Muktanand Cross Roads in the Karelibaug area.
Chaurasia's car first hit a woman riding a two-wheeler and then crashed into two other bikers.
The impact was so strong that it activated the airbags of the vehicle.
After the crash, Chaurasia's co-passenger Chauhan got out and tried to run away, but was intercepted by passersby who handed him to police.
Aftermath
Victims and police response
The deceased in the accident has been identified as Hemali Patel. Her husband Purav is still critical.
Cops are also looking into whether Chauhan was intoxicated too when the incident happened.
"We will conduct his medical test to determine whether he was under the influence of alcohol," said Deputy Commissioner of Police Panna Momaya.
Investigation is underway as authorities collect more evidence from the scene.