A 24-year-old staff member of the High Commission of Singapore was killed while his wife sustained critical injuries after their over speeding car rammed into two poles on a pavement outside the Czhech Republic Embassy in the Chanakyapuri area in the early hours of Sunday.
According to the police, the accident took place less than a month after Pattrick and Poonam Chopra married each other.
At the time of the accident the couple was returning from the Singapore High Commission after attending a function there and was headed towards their residence in Moti Nagar.
According to the police, prima facie speeding appeared to be the issue and that they are waiting for the medical reports to ascertain whether the victim was driving under the influence of alcohol.
Eyewitnesses said the vehicle was being driven at a very high speed. So far, police have ruled out the involvement of any second vehicle in the accident.
Sikkim Police constable Gopal Kumar Basnett, who was manning a police post close to the accident site on Niti Marg, said he had just arrived to report for duty when a loud sound caught his attention.
The accident took place around 2 am. The car first hit a pedestrian crossing signboard and then an electric pole in quick succession before coming to a halt, Basnett told police.
The duo was rushed to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences Trauma Centre where Pattrick succumbed to injuries where as Poonam is still recuperating. She is out of danger, said a senior police officer.
The Wagon R car in which the couple was travelling was badly damaged with its windscreen cracked. The officer said that a case under Sections 304-A (causing death by negligence) and 279 (Rash and negligent driving) has been registered.
Patrick worked as a clerk with the High Commission where his father had also worked in the past. The officer said that he married Poonam in January.