Pressed the gas instead of the brake during a driving practice — and drowned
A 42-year-old woman died in India after losing control of her vehicle and plunging into a lake about 3.5 meters deep. The driver, who was practicing driving without supervision ahead of her licensing test, was extracted from the submerged vehicle after a complex operation; her death was pronounced at the hospital.
A fatal tragedy during driving practice in India: A 42-year-old woman died after losing control of her vehicle and plunging into a lake while inside it. The driver, identified as Sumitra Das, was extracted from the sinking vehicle after a complex and prolonged rescue operation, but her death was pronounced at the hospital.
According to a report by the India Today network, the incident occurred in the morning hours, after Das returned home from dropping her daughter off at school. She took the family's new Hyundai Eon to practice driving ahead of her licensing test, which was scheduled for August 22. Although her driving lessons were usually conducted with a qualified instructor, at the time of the fatal accident, she was driving the vehicle alone.
Eyewitnesses who saw the car plunge into the water immediately called emergency services. Local residents tried to jump into the water and rescue Das, but the depth of the lake, estimated at about 3.5 meters, caused the vehicle to sink quickly to the bottom.
Fire and police crews who arrived at the scene began a prolonged rescue operation, and only after a long time were the rescuers able to pull the car out of the water using a heavy crane. Das was found inside the vehicle unconscious and was rushed to the hospital, where doctors were forced to pronounce her death.
Indian police have opened an investigation into the circumstances of the accident, and the vehicle was sent for a comprehensive mechanical inspection after Das's body was found in an unusual position, with her face turned toward the back seat and her legs near the pedals. The investigators' main suspicion at this time is a fatal human error, and the police are examining the possibility that the inexperienced driver panicked and accidentally pressed the gas pedal instead of the brake, which caused the vehicle to lunge forward and break into the lake. The investigation is ongoing to rule out a technical failure in the vehicle, which was only recently purchased by her husband.
