Another fatal accident on the Chandigarh-Delhi National Highway-22 near Bhankerpur village in Dera Bassi claimed the life of a 24-year-old autorickshaw driver Jagdeep Singh alias Sonu on Thursday morning. A young woman, who was travelling in Sonu’s autorickshaw, sustained serious injuries and her condition is stated to be critical.

Sonu, a resident of Trivedi Camp village near here, leaves behind his wife whom he married just six days ago.

The accident took place at 10 am when a recklessly driven canter, coming from Chandigarh, rammed into Sonu’s autorickshaw from behind. Both Sonu and his passenger were rushed to the Dera Bassi Civil Hospital where Sonu was declared dead on arrival while the woman was shifted to the GMCH-32 in Chandigarh in a critical condition.

This was the third accident in less than a week in the Bhankerpur area. On Friday, a 20-year-old youth of Bhankerpur village lost his life after being hit by a passenger bus. Angry villagers had torched the bus and blocked the busy highway for over an hour. Another person sustained serious injuries in the second accident that occurred at the same spot on Saturday.

In another accident on the Dera Bassi-Barwala Road near Saidpura village, 40-year-old Tehal Singh of Bhagat Singh Nagar in Dera Bassi died after a speeding Mahindra jeep hit Singh’s scooter.

The police have rounded up the drivers of both the canter and the jeep.