Speeding car rams into bystanders, killing four in Karachi

Driver claims he was trying to avoid hitting pedestrian who had walked in front of the vehicle

KARACHI: Four bystanders were killed while one was injured when a speeding car ran into them at the Lyari Expressway late on Thursday night. The car then drove off the flyover, injuring two passengers, including a child, and the driver.

Police and rescue teams shifted the injured and the deceased to Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital for treatment and medico-legal formalities, respectively.

Shershah SHO Rafiq Mughal disclosed that the driver of the car, Mehtab, and his brother were taken into police custody. He added that Mehtab told the police he had been attempting to avoid hitting a pedestrian who had suddenly walked in front of the car when he lost control of the vehicle and drove into the bystanders.

According to Mughal, Mehtab, his brother and the 10-year-old boy who were in the car sustained slight injuries despite the fall, while the car was wrecked. He added that the vehicle was taken to the police station as well.

The SHO further revealed that the deceased have been identified as Atif, Adeel and Amir while the fourth body could not be identified till the filing of this report. Meanwhile, the injured bystander was identified as 18-year-old Ali Hassan, who is now in stable condition.

According to area residents, there was a power outage at the time of the accident and so people had stepped out of their houses to cool down in the night air, while some residents had even taken to sleeping by the road in the sweltering heat.

Mughal claimed the police would record the statements of the deceased's families and the injured after which legal action would be taken. The bodies were handed over to the families while the unidentified body was taken a morgue after the completion of medico-legal formalities.