Man learning to drive SUV in Delhi mounts curb and runs over three children

CCTV footage shows car speeding onto pavement, hitting the children and then coming to a halt

A man learning to drive an SUV in India’s national capital Delhi mounted a curb and ran over three children and injured them, said police officials.

The incident was filmed on a CCTV camera and took place on Sunday in west Delhi’s Gulabi Bagh area.

“Gajender [suspect’s first name] lost control of the car and it climbed onto a footpath, hitting three children who were standing around a bonfire to warm themselves. The children were rushed to a nearby hospital, and have been declared out of danger,” Sagar Singh Kalsi, a top Delhi police official, told the Hindustan Times newspaper.

The children, aged 10, six and four are receiving treatment.

CCTV footage showed the car speeding onto the pavement, hitting the children and then coming to a halt.

The footage, shared widely on social media, also showed passersby rushing to help the children.

Locals caught the driver, who had allegedly tried to escape, and locked him in a room before handing him over to the police, reported NDTV.

“We have impounded the car for its inspection to ascertain if any mechanical fault led to the accident or if it was caused because its driver lost control,” another police official told the Hindustan Times.

“Further action against the owner of the car would be taken accordingly.”

According to onlookers, the driver had been asked to not try driving in the busy area.

“We had asked them not to learn driving as there is a school nearby and it is a crowded area. But they did not listen to us. The car took two rounds and stopped. The third time, its driver lost control and hit the three children who were on the footpath,” an eyewitness was quoted as saying to the outlet.

According to the Delhi Road Crash Report for 2021 released by the police, 4,720 road crashes took place in the capital, in which 4,273 people were injured and 1,239 killed.