Puri: Shattered glasses, twisted metal, and mangled pieces of a BMW luxury car speak volumes about the intensity of the accident that killed one and left three others injured on Puri-Konark marine drive on Sunday night.
It is suspected that the accident was the result of a drag race between a BMW and an Audi car. Both vehicles were being driven by two friends, who had gone to celebrate one of their friends’ birthday.
The deceased has been identified as Nanda Kishore Mohapatra while the injured are Kalyan Keshari Samantaray and Suman Patra.
Though police are yet to come up with the exact reason behind the fatal accident, sources said it could be yet another case of rash and negligent driving over a bet between the drivers of both luxury cars to reach Konark first.
"The mishap occurred at around at 3:30 AM due to rash and negligent driving," said Pramod Sahu, officer-in-charge of Ramchandi police station.
Sources said BMW was racing another driver in Audi at almost double the speed limit which might have led to the disaster owing to poor visibility on account of dense fog.
"There was a white car near the accident spot and whether it was an Audi or some other car we are not aware as we were busy in the rescue operation," said firefighter Rasananda Rout.
Following the accident, all three occupants of the BMW were rescued by police and fire services personnel and rushed to the hospital where Nanda Kishore breathed his last.
Surprisingly, the driver and other occupants of the Audi car escaped from the spot.