[KartikeyaL]

Just read the terrible news that Ashwin Sundar and his wife have been killed in an horrific car accident this morning.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/57700560.cms

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashwin_Sundar

RIP

[GTO]

No way, man, no way. What a smart young lad with such promising talent. Deeply saddened by the news.

May God bless the souls of Ashwin & his wife. My sincerest condolences to the family.









Would urge everyone to keep a glass hammer in their car - related thread.

Lastly, do drive safe. I don't want to be judgemental, but prima facie = night time, empty road, fast car, collision with a stationary object / car all point to driver error here. Unless of course, he swerved to avoid a pedestrian or something, but at that time, the roads are usually empty.

[swissknife]

Originally Posted by KartikeyaL

Just read the terrible news that Ashwin Sundar and his wife have been killed in an horrific car accident this morning.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/57700560.cms

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashwin_Sundar

RIP

What a way to start a weekend? : (

I knew him from his early racing career. He was such a promising driver and a multiple national champion both on 2 and 4 wheels. He had such a long racing career ahead of him. Motorsport has lost yet another champion.

The entire nature of the accident shocked me. Being burnt alive inside a car that has crashed! Didn't the doors unlock on impact? Were they conscious on impact? Did people who were around not know what to do? Leaves a lot of questions to ask, but would the answers bring the person (and his wife) back? However, there could be lessons that we may learn from those answers.

RIP is an easy way to bid goodbye, but then, would it let those who are left behind rest in peace? My condolences to those who the young couple left behind.

[Gannu_1]

Tragic news. RIP. :(

I have a dry powder fire extinguisher in the car but I keep it in the boot. My wife keeps insisting me to keep it inside the car somewhere on the rear footwell. I think I should listen to her. Incidents like these gives me the scares!

A firex is cheap at 2k for a 2L cylinder. May make a difference between life and death. Please consider investing in one.

Originally Posted by swissknife

Didn't the doors unlock on impact?

From the pics, it appears the car was jammed between a wall on the driver side and a tree on the co-driver side.

[Jaggu]

Sad loss may their soul rest in peace. Condolence to the family.

Originally Posted by GTO

Would urge everyone to keep a glass hammer in their car - related thread.

You can also remove the headrest and use the the bar to break glass, if you have a removable headrest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZTa8Nh0VlE

[SmartCat]

Looking at the damage to the structure of the car, fire extinguishers or glass breakers would NOT have helped. It is very likely that both were unconscious or severely hurt. NDTV article confirms that his wife could not be extricated by passersby from the car because her legs were stuck.

[BLACKBLADE]

Our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Ashwin and Niveditha. It's been just over a year after the couple had got married last year, in February 2016.

News reports indicate that he was driving a BMW Z4 which rammed in to a tree and caught fire. The car was badly mangled and caught fire and burned uncontrollably, that no rescue attempt could be made by the people near by the accident spot.

Supposedly Ashwin and Niveditha could not make any move, since they were either unconscious or caught up in the mangles, leaving them helpless, burning to death. So painful it is, to even think of, for how long the couple had been trapped inside the burning car, before dying.

Quoting Ashwin's illustrious racing career from www.hindustantimes.com below.

One of India’s most prominent racers in the domestic arena, Ashwin Sundar had been in the professional car racing circuit for well over a decade.

A former national champion across different categories, Ashwin Sundar had first made his mark in the sport by winning the 2002 MRF National Go-Kart Championships (U-17 age group) as a 13-year old, going on to win the title again in 2003.

His stock grew after he lifted the MRF Formula Mondial National titles in 2003 and 2004.

In 2004, Ashwin Sundar went on to make his debut in the Formula FISSME (800 cc) and Formula LGB series (1000 cc) series, finishing fourth in the Indian championship. In the process, he became the youngest Formula LGB driver at the time.

In 2006, he was adjudged Champion of Champions in India after winning the 115cc 4-stroke and 150cc 4-stroke titles.

The Chennai-born racer continued to make his mark in the sport in the later years.

In 2007, Sundar became the Indian champion in the Formula Hyundai and Formula Swift categories, the first driver to win both titles in the same season.

He became the champion at the MRF Formula 1600 International Challenge event in 2010, repeating the feat in 2011.

In 2012 Sundar lifted the Formula 4 national title. A year later, Sundar became the champion in MRF FF 1600 series.

Sundar was 27 years of age at the time of his death.

source: www.hindustantimes.com

I had earlier posted the news reports and photographs in this thread

[KartikeyaL]

The below images are of the accident, ( sorry to share) but they show the enormity of the accident.

Picture credit : Times of India

[KMT]

Any idea what model BMW it was?
Can't believe how little is left of the car.
What a terrible way to go, really sad.

[ritz3645]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Te.

Sad, RIP. Condolence to the family.

Gannu_1 : Like first aid kit Fire extinguisher should be made mandatory for Indian Vehicles, specially when everything is plastic.

Yes I always carry a small portable Fire extinguisher for mental peace.

Also with approaching summer everyone should carry One. Even Chinese liter water bottle size costing Rs 200 or less are good. People may complain of being chinese but it also has a EU certification and applicable to all class of fires.
I will try to test a canister, still EU certification is legit.

[snaseer]

What a tragic end to such gifted career.

From the pictures it looks as if both doors were stuck between the wall and the tree. And for the vehicle to catch fire, it looks as if the vehicle was in high speed.

Reminds me of Paul Walker incident.

Drive safe guys, there is always someone waiting for you at home.

[ecenandu]

Originally Posted by KMT

Any idea what model BM it was?
Can't believe how little is left of the car.
What a terrible way to go, really sad.

It is a BMW Z4, buddy.

Originally Posted by ecenandu

Z4.

Attachment 1620155

Attachment 1620156

RIP buddy.

[SmartCat]

Speed breaker + High speed was the cause of accident, according to this speculative article

http://www.newindianexpress.com/citi...d-1582872.html

[GTO]

^ Possible. If you look closely at the videos doing the rounds, you will see skid marks turning left into the crash site.

[R2D2]

May Ashwin and his wife RIP. Terrible to think of their last few moments.

According to the press they were out celebrating. A young couple about to head off to a honeymoon after the lady's medical degree, returning home late in a fast car.

For a man with Ashwin's driving skills & experience with fast cars I think it was not just the speed breaker. Not sure if he was a teetotaller but I just hope it was not DUI which lead to a critical lapse in judgement at high speed.