Mini Cooper driver who killed 3 in Kochi car crash had 5 times legal blood alcohol limit, say police

The 19-year-old driver of the Mini Cooper that crashed into a scooter and killed three people in Kochi on October 11 was driving with a blood alcohol level at least five times the legal limit, according to his blood test report, police said on Friday.

“The BAC limit for driving in India is 30 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood. Suhail’s blood sample, taken following the incident on Oct 11, showed levels of five times the legal limit. It shows he was highly intoxicated,” a senior officer in Ernakulam told HT.

In the early hours of October 11, a speeding black Mini Cooper, driven by Suhail, rammed into the back of a scooter while navigating a curve on the road leading to Cochin International Airport near Nedumbassery. Suhail was apprehended by locals and handed over to the police.

The deceased were identified as Devika (21), a native of Wayanad; Gopika (22), from Palakkad; and Ijaz (21), a native of Dakshina Kannada in Karnataka. All three were travelling on the scooter and worked at a handicrafts shop.

Earlier, Suhail and his friend Ninav had been arrested by the police and produced before a magistrate, who remanded them to the Borstal school in Thrikkakara, where remand prisoners between 18 and 21 are lodged. Suhail has been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Police are likely to file an application in court seeking their custody for questioning.

Police have found that Suhail and his friends visited at least three bars in Kochi on October 10 and consumed alcohol before meeting two other friends at a third bar near Cochin International Airport in Nedumbassery on the intervening night of October 10 and 11. Police have found CCTV footage of Suhail and his friends consuming liquor at the three bars.

The Excise department has launched an inquiry against the three bars for serving alcohol to Suhail and Ninav. As per Excise rules, establishments are barred from serving liquor to those below the age of 23.

Officers said that the Mini Cooper Suhail was driving was travelling at 120 km/hr at the time of the crash. The maximum speed limit on the Cochin airport road is 80 km/hr.

While Suhail has been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and culpable homicide not amounting to murder, the three others — Ninav, Ameer and Joel — have been charged with abetting the accused.

The blood analysis reports, however, did not indicate the presence of chemicals or narcotic substances in the accused’s bodies at the time of the crash.

Meanwhile, the SFI, the students’ wing of the CPI(M), carried out a protest march to the boutique run by Suhail’s mother, Nooha Sajeev, in Kochi on Friday. The protest march was stopped by the police.

The Mini Cooper was gifted to Suhail by his mother on his birthday this year. Police have said in the remand report filed before the court in Angamaly that the accused has significant social and financial influence and can influence witnesses if released on bail.

The bail petitions filed by Suhail and the other accused were to be decided by the first-class judicial magistrate court in Angamaly on Friday. The prosecution has opposed bail for all four accused.

Note: The copy says the group visited “at least three bars” before meeting two friends at “a third bar”. Please verify the number and sequence of bars, as the wording appears inconsistent.