Luxury car in Nedumbassery accident was speeding above 165 kmph, say police citing camera analysis

The luxury car involved in the Nedumbassery road accident was allegedly speeding at over 165 km per hour while ramming the two-wheeler from behind, killing three young riders, according to top sources with the investigation team.

The investigators arrived at the preliminary conclusion after analysing visuals recorded by surveillance cameras installed by the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) on the stretch of the Airport Road where the accident took place on October 11.

“According to footage captured by around 10 cameras installed starting from 500 km before the accident site, the car was speeding between 165 kmph and 180 kmph. The footage from all cameras are synchronised. The legally permitted speed limit on the stretch is only 60 kmph,” a senior police officer said.

The car was allegedly driven by 19-year-old Suhail Sajeev. A chemical examination report, according to police, has confirmed that he was heavily intoxicated when the crash happened.

The officer said the investigation team will submit a report based on the preliminary assessment to the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Angamaly. A detailed analysis report will also be prepared with the help of experts from CIAL, Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) and Public Works Department, the officer added. Visuals from more cameras will be analysed.

The investigation team has, meanwhile, also sought data from the event data recorder (EDR) of the luxury car which the police expect to be a key evidence to establish the speed of the car at the time of the fatal crash.

“The authorised dealer of the luxury car company has collected the EDR data from the vehicle based on our request. We are awaiting a report after analysing the data,” an officer said. The main function of the event data memory is to record data in crash situations to help understand how the vehicle systems have behaved, according to the car company’s website.

The data stored include how far down, if at all, the driver had depressed the accelerator pedal and/or the brake pedal and the speed at which the vehicle was travelling at the time of the crash. A source with the MVD said most of the high-end vehicles come with EDR which is integrated directly into a vehicle’s electronic control system. The investigation sources equated it to a black box of an aeroplane.