A 22-year-old man standing by the roadside and talking on his phone on Friday morning was crushed by a car that lost control, hit pedestrians and a two-wheeler, and mounted the footpath near Ultadanga.
A woman and a child travelling in the rear seat of the car escaped unhurt. But the young man, identified by police as Mohammad Moidul Islam, died after being taken to RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Two others — a pedestrian who had just got off a bus and a scooterist — were injured and are undergoing treatment at different hospitals.
According to the police, Moidul was a resident of Haroa in North 24-Parganas. He had come to Kankurgachi to appear for an interview for the job of a security guard and was waiting by the roadside when the accident occurred.
“He was supposed to appear for an interview and was waiting for someone when the car killed him,” said an officer of Maniktala police station.
The crash took place around 9am on CIT Road near the DVC Tower, when the car was travelling from Kankurgachi towards Ultadanga. The vehicle lost control and hit two pedestrians and a scooterist before veering onto the footpath, the police said.
The two injured have been identified as Jamaluddin Molla, 32, a resident of North 24-Parganas, and Soumitra Sarkar Das, 64, of Maniktala Main Road. Jamaluddin has been admitted to the orthopaedic ward of SSKM Hospital, while Das is undergoing treatment at a private hospital off EM Bypass.
The driver of the car reportedly told the police that he had taken some medication and had dozed off briefly, losing control of the steering wheel.
Senior officers said the exact cause of the crash was under investigation.
Eyewitnesses said the car first hit a man who had just got off a bus, then crashed into a tree along the kerb, struck Moidul who was standing on the roadside, and finally hit a scooterist before climbing onto the footpath.
Eyewitnesses said the car came crashing towards Moidul and he did not get any time to react.
An officer of Kolkata Police’s traffic department said: “Moidul was stuck under the front wheels of the car for some time before he was pulled out. He was rushed to RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries a few hours later.”
The three men hit by the vehicle were seen lying on the road, writhing in pain, witnesses said. Moidul suffered severe head injuries and was the worst affected. The other two escaped with comparatively minor injuries.
Senior traffic department officers said statements from witnesses and the injured suggested that the car was being driven at high speed. The airbags of the vehicle were deployed following the crash.
“The vehicle will be sent for a mechanical examination to ascertain whether there was any technical fault or if the accident was caused by human error,” a police officer said.
Another eyewitness who escaped by a whisker said: “The speed of the car left no chance for those in its path to escape. It just kept crashing into people and vehicles in its way.”
The police have impounded the car and arrested the driver.