DU girl dies after drunk Uber driver rams into a truck in Noida

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Sep 28, 2016: Four Delhi University students were severely injured in an accident where an Uber cab rammed into a truck parked near Sector 16A in the wee hours of Friday, September 23.

Kaayum Pegu, a 20-year-old Delhi University student pursuing English Honours at Miranda House college, was one of the four students inside the Uber cab, driven by a drunk driver. Kaayum succumbed to her injuries and died today.

On September 24, a Facebook post made by Kaayum’s brother Rikesh Pegu seeking O positive blood donors for his sister had gone viral with over 18,000 shares.

A report in the Hindustan Times say that the driver was arrested the same day, produced in court but released on bail. HT quotes Amarnath Yadav, Sector 20 station house officer as saying, "An FIR of rash and negligent driving was registered against the driver who was later identified as Viresh."

The other three students injured in the accident are Tanuz Kalita of SGTB Khalsa College, Siddharth Pathak of Swami Shraddhanand College and Akshara Badola of Mata Sundari College.

The four friends were returning from Greater Noida after attending a birthday party. "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," said Kalita, who was discharged after initial treatment. Pathak and Badola are still in the hospital, but are out of danger.

Ruchita Machal, an Assistant Professor at University of Delhi posted "Kaayum is no longer with us" on her Facebook profile, and sought action from Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal against the Uber driver.

The HT report quotes Pathak as saying, "Pegu sat in the middle of the backseat and was thrown off the seat and hit the windshield and the dashboard, under the accident’s impact."

A friend of Pegu told HT that Uber is not taking any responsibility for the incident and have left Pegu and family at ’the mercy of the cab driver’s insurance’.

"We are pained to learn about the accident and are closely engaged with the victims’ families to provide all assistance," said an Uber spokesperson as per the report.