Goa Mercedes crash: Driver held after biker killed, pillion injured

A Mercedes dragged a motorcycle for more than two kilometres through Sancoale before bursting into flames, after allegedly hitting and killing its rider. The crash also injured the motorcycle’s passenger, according to Goa Police.

Police arrested the Mercedes driver, Vidhyadhar Prabhu, also known as Vipul, at 11 p.m. on Friday. They allege that he was driving under the influence of alcohol when he struck Ashok Kumar Chauhan, the motorcycle rider, at about 2 p.m. that day.

The car finally stopped outside Sancoale Church, on the outskirts of the port town of Vasco da Gama, only after it caught fire. Eyewitness José Fernandes said he and another bystander opened the driver’s door and pulled Prabhu from the burning vehicle.

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We brought him to a halt outside the Sancoale Church by which time the car was already aflame. With the help of another bystander, I opened the driver’s door and dragged him out. If not for us, he too would have perished in the car.

“We brought him to a halt outside the Sancoale Church by which time the car was already aflame. With the help of another bystander, I opened the driver’s door and dragged him out. If not for us, he too would have perished in the car,” Fernandes said. “He was so drunk he couldn’t even walk,” he added.

Police booked Prabhu under Sections 281, 105 and 125 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, citing allegations of rash driving, culpable homicide and endangering human life. The injured passenger, identified as 24-year-old Sonu Kumar, remains under treatment.

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He was so drunk he couldn’t even walk.