Massive night crash after BMW-Audi race highlights dangers of road-racing

A BMW and an Audi were allegedly locked in a drag race when the BMW 3-Series sedan driver lost control and rammed into a tree. The crash was massive as the speeds involved seem quite high, and it left the BMW 320d sedan – a well-built car – in a twisted heap of metal. One person in the BMW died while three others were seriously injured and are being treated at a hospital.

What? How!

The crash happened near Chikina overbridge on Odisha’s Puri-Konark marine drive. A group of four in a BMW 320d sedan were said to be street racing with an Audi sedan, the details of which remain sketchy for now. The crash happened after the BMW driver lost control at about 3:30 AM in the morning, when the friends were said to be returning from Puri, after a birthday party.

It was driven by Kalyan Keshari Samantaray of Bhubaneshwar, while three others – Suman Patra (26), Sonali Behera (21) and Nanda Kishore Mahapatra, were also in the car. 29 year-old Mr. Mahapatra, a DJ in Bhubaneshwar, was killed in this crash, while the others have been seriously injured. Fire service personnel had to use gas cutters to extricate the victims of the crash, even as the airbags of the BMW had deployed.

Allegedly, the Audi that was involved in the street-race with the BMW is said to belong to another friend of the group. For now, the Audi said to be involved in the crash hasn’t been traced yet. This massive crash is a reminder of how dangerous speeding at night can be, even in a well-built high-performance car such as the BMW 320d. Drag/street races are an absolute no-no on public roads.

Notably, this stretch (Marine Drive of Puri-Konark) has been accident prone. in 2015, a BMW SUV crashed on the same road, killing all five men in it. People using this road are advised to stick to the speed limit and drive defensively. Night driving on an accident-prone stretch of road needs abundant caution, and is to be avoided as much as possible.

Via OdishaSunTimes & OdishaTV