Luxury car driven by schoolboy claims construction worker’s life in Coimbatore

Construction worker killed by minor driver in Coimbatore, car catches fire, police investigate, case filed against driver's family.

A construction worker, who was regulating traffic for the works of the elevated corridor on Avinashi Road in Coimbatore, was killed after a sedan driven by a class XII student knocked him down early on Wednesday, July 17, 2024.

While the minor boy was rescued by other construction workers, the car was gutted after it rammed the median and caught fire.

The police said that the accident took place opposite the Federal Bank branch at Peelamedu. Akshay Bohra, 23, who hailed from Jamboni village in Jhargram district in West Bengal, died in the accident.

According to the Traffic Investigation Wing (TIW), 17-year old boy, a resident of Mahalakshmi Kovil Street at Sowripalayam, took out the car from his house in the early hours of Wednesday. The accident took place around 12.45 a.m. as the car reached near pillar number 136, opposite to the Federal Bank branch, when he was heading towards Hope College.

The police said that the car hit Bohra, who was regulating traffic for the construction works as safety labourer, when he tried to overtake a taxi. He was thrown off towards pillar 136 for about 10 feet and died on the spot. The car then rammed concrete blocks of the median, before coming to a halt.

Soon the car caught fire and the boy got trapped inside. The boy, who suffered minor injuries, was rescued by other construction workers. The car was gutted before fire brigades from Peelamedu station reached the spot and put out the flames. The Peelamedu police shifted the body of the deceased worker to the Government Medical College and ESI hospital.

The TIW registered a case against the student, his father Mohanraj and his grandfather, who owned the car, for offences under Sections 281 (rash driving or riding on a public way) and 106 (1) (causing death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and 199 A (offences by juveniles) of the Motor Vehicles Act, based on a complaint lodged by the safety engineer of the construction firm.