Close shave for 4 on late-night joyride as car crashes into Salt Lake median

Kolkata: A late-night joyride turned into a near-fatal crash when a speeding sedan carrying four youths, who were returning from an eatery in Sector V, rammed into a median divider en-route to Ultadanga, flew over a road and slammed onto the opposite carriageway in Salt Lake's Baisakhi area on Thursday night, leaving the car mangled but its occupants miraculously alive. Police said the driver allegedly lost control near a traffic island, causing the car to ram into the median divider, and flies through air nearly six feet into the air and crash on the other side of the road.
All four occupants, residents of Salt Lake's CA Block, escaped with minor injuries, largely due to timely airbag deployment and the use of seatbelts by those in the front seats, officers said. Residents of nearby Sourav Abasan said a deafening crash drew them to the spot, where they saw smoke rising from the severely damaged vehicle as the youths struggled to get out. "Given the force of the impact, we feared there would be fatalities," said a local resident.With help from locals, the four youths were pulled out and rushed to Bidhannagar Sub-Divisional Hospital for first-aid. Police said none of the injuries were serious, and the youths were later taken home or moved to other hospitals by their families. No complaint was lodged, police said. The car owner, the driver's father, later arranged for a towing van to remove the wreckage. Witnesses said the impact was so severe that the car's front wheels were dislodged. CCTV footage reviewed by police indicates the driver failed to negotiate the turn at the traffic island and crashed into the median divider.