A Friday night dinner outing turned into a nightmare for five childhood friends in Jaipur, leaving them with serious injuries after a high-speed car ploughed into roadside food stalls. The tragic incident in the Kharbas area also injured at least 16 people, including labourers and food cart vendors, in a scene of sudden devastation.
School Friends Caught in Sudden Carnage
The five victims, all businessmen in their forties from the Sanganer area, had gathered for their regular monthly dinner. Identified as Pankaj Khandelwal, Ravi Kumar Jain, Ashish Gupta, Ankit Kayal, and Chamatkar Jain, they had just stepped out of their car and were waiting outside a hotel due to a queue. In a split second, an Audi car, moving at high speed, lost control and crashed into a row of food carts selling soup, dal-baati, burgers, and Chinese food.
The impact was so severe that metal and debris from the shattered carts flew towards the group. "Suddenly, a car came at high speed and rammed into roadside food carts. The pieces of these food carts hit all these five friends," recounted Ruchika, wife of the injured Ashish Gupta.
Critical Injuries and Hospital Admissions
The friends sustained a range of grave injuries. Three were immediately admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Pankaj Khandelwal was placed in the High Dependency Unit, while Ravi Kumar Jain was admitted to the Neuro ICU. Chamatkar Jain suffered a liver injury causing internal bleeding and was treated in the medical ICU.
The other two friends, Ashish Gupta and Ankit Kayal, were admitted to the general ward. Two of the group suffered leg fractures, while another sustained a forehead fracture that required surgery. Dr DS Malik, medical superintendent of EHCC hospital, confirmed, "The condition of all five injured is currently stable. They are under supervision of specialist doctors."
Wider Impact: Vendors and Labourers Hurt
The ripple effect of the crash extended far beyond the five friends. The Audi first hit a soup cart operated by 22-year-old Mridul from Chittor, who was rushed to Jaipuria Hospital's ICU with fractures in his ribs and leg. "My son has survived miraculously," said his father, Vinod Lohar.
Tragically, a helper at an adjacent dal-baati cart lost his life. Three labourers from Malpura, Tonk, who had stopped to eat dal-baati after a day's work, suffered serious injuries and were taken to SMS Hospital. Dr BL Yadav from the Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics at SMS Hospital stated one of the injured there remains in critical condition. In total, the late-night accident left at least 16 people injured across the scene.
The incident has cast a shadow over the bustling Kharbas area, highlighting the dangers posed by speeding vehicles in crowded urban zones. As the victims fight for recovery, questions about road safety in Jaipur take centre stage once again.
