A 31-year-old civil engineer based in Gurugram was arrested on Thursday for ramming his car into two people after he fell asleep while driving. The CCTV footage of the incident, which took place on June 24, has gone viral.(Video screengrab)

The accused, identified as Mohit, hit two friends with his car on the Delhi-Jaipur Highway, police told PTI news agency.

While one of the friends, Harsh Singhal, who was a law student, lost his life in the incident, the other was admitted to the hospital and is said to be in a stable condition. Harsh was a resident of Om Vihar in Sector 23, and was pursuing LLB at a local college.

Mohit is a resident of the Noorpur Bohra Kalan village in Gurugram’s Sector 14, where he was staying at a rented paying guest accommodation.

The CCTV footage of the incident, which took place on June 24, has gone viral. The video shows a speeding Skoda car ramming into Harsh and his friend Abhishek Kumar, with both being thrown 10 meters away after the impact.

What led to the accident

Harsh had reached the Chanchal Dhaba – where the accident took place – at 3 am with another friend, Moksh, on a motorcycle. After the accident, Moksh told NDTV that the friends were waiting for their turn because the dhaba was “very crowded”. “Meanwhile, Harsh met an old friend Abhishek, and they stood near the service lane’s railing to chat,” Moksh said.

The accused, who was returning to his PG accommodation at this time, fell asleep on the wheels, thus leading to the accident, NDTV quoted Gurugram Police spokesperson Sandeep as saying.

In the aftermath, some people tried to chase the white car, but the driver fled the scene. Both Harsh and Abhishek were taken to the hospital. However, the former was declared dead. Abhishek was treated for his injuries, his condition eventually returning to stable.

The police later looked at the CCTV footage to determine the identity of the driver, who was later arrested. They also seized the vehicle involved in the accident.