DU Student Succumbs to Injuries After Uber Driver Rams Into Truck

The accident happened near Sector 16 Noida on Friday, grievously injuring three other Delhi University students.

Kaayum Pegu is in critical condition after an Uber cab rammed into a truck on Friday morning. (Photo Courtesy: Facebook/ Kaayum Pegu)

Kaayum Pegu, the Delhi University student, who was grievously injured after the Uber cab she was travelling in rammed into a parked truck, succumbed to her injuries on Wednesday.

The accident happened near Sector 16 Noida on Friday, that injured three other students – 19-year-old Tanuz Kalita of SGTB Khalsa College, 20-year-old Siddharth Pathak of Swami Shraddhanand College and Akshara Badola of Mata Sundari College.

Pegu was a student of DU’s Miranda House College and faced multiple fractures in the ribs and a serious head injury.

After the accident, Pegu’s kin and close friends took to social media to demand justice for what happened.

According to the three injured, they were coming back from a mutual friend’s party in Greater Noida when the accident happened. The said that the driver was speeding, and despite their repeated requests to slow down, he kept driving rashly.

“The cab driver was smoking inside the car. He rammed a stationary vehicle at 3 am. All of us were injured, but the driver escaped with minor injuries. Instead of calling for help, he abandoned the car and fled the spot,” Kalita told Hindustan Times.

Both Pathak and Badola were also admitted to the hospital and are in stable condition.

According to the report, the driver, identified as Viresh, was arrested on the same day as the accident. An FIR of rash and negligent driving was registered against him.

Following reports of the accident, an Uber spokesperson issued a statement saying: “We are pained to learn about the accident and are closely engaged with the victims’ families to provide all assistance.”  

After the accident, there were also reports that the driver was inebriated. The owner of the cab, Sanjay Kumar Yadav, however told The Times of India that he was not drunk and that “it was actually the students who asked him to speed up”.

(Source: Hindustan Times and The Times of India)