A tragic accident occurred on Delhi-Nainital Highway-87 near the Pahadi Gate intersection in Rampur when a truck carrying wood shavings toppled onto a Bolero SUV, killing its driver, Firasat, instantly.
The vehicle was crushed under the truck, leaving the driver trapped and fatally injured. CCTV footage later captured the sequence of events leading to the crash.
Visuals from the site showed the Bolero completely flattened under the overturned truck. According to witnesses and the footage, the Bolero began turning at a highway cut while the loaded truck approached from behind. As the Bolero made the sudden turn, the truck swerved towards the central divider, lost balance, and fell onto the SUV.
The collision caused significant traffic disruption on the highway, with vehicles stuck for nearly three hours. Police, along with rescue teams from Ganj Kotwali, Civil Lines, and Nagar Kotwali, responded promptly. They used four cranes, two bulldozers, and later a JCB machine to lift the truck, clear the wood shavings, and remove the Bolero. Traffic was diverted via alternative routes, and partial movement was restored after several hours of clearance work.
Firasat, a resident of Gujar Tola, was driving the Bolero belonging to an electricity department SDO. Around 4:30 pm, he had dropped the SDO at the Khoud substation and was returning home, which was about one kilometre from the Pahadi Gate intersection.
Police said that while turning from the highway cut, Firasat did not notice the approaching truck. By the time he realized it, the Bolero had already crossed half the road. The truck driver tried to avoid a direct collision by steering towards the divider, but the front wheel mounted the divider, causing the truck to tilt and crush the Bolero.
The force of the impact left Firasat trapped between the steering and the cabin, with fatal injuries. Police described that his head was flattened and the spine shattered due to the extreme pressure. It took rescuers approximately thirty minutes to lift the truck sufficiently to access the SUV. The Bolero was carefully cut open, and Firasat’s body was removed after stabilizing the truck and partially removing its load of wood shavings.
The truck driver was injured in the incident and taken to a hospital but reportedly fled after around thirty minutes of treatment.
Senior officers, including SP Vidyasagar Mishra, visited the scene to supervise the operations. The truck was later moved to the police station compound. A traffic backlog of nearly two kilometres had formed due to the accident and clearance work. SP Mishra stated: “Officials have been instructed to investigate the matter. The body of the Bolero driver has been sent for post-mortem. The family has been informed about the incident. The truck driver has fled and a search is underway. The truck has been parked at the police station.”
Police confirmed that the Bolero driver’s family had been notified and legal formalities were underway.