A good Samaritan has given an eyewitness account into Rishabh Pant’s accident which saw the Indian cricketer’s car crash into a road divider and catch fire.
The 25-year-old was returning from his hometown Roorkee, a few hours north of the capital, before dawn when his Mercedes SUV crashed into the median.
Police said the car immediately caught fire and the national team wicketkeeper had to break the windscreen to escape the blaze.
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“The car hit the median and no other person or vehicle was involved in the crash,” a police officer from Roorkee, requesting anonymity, told AFP.
Local police superintendent Swapn Kishor Singh said the car Pant was driving was “completely burnt” and that he was “lucky to survive the severe accident”.
Meanwhile, more details have emerged about the good Samaritans who reportedly rushed to Pant’s aid immediately after the accident.
Susheel Kumar, a driver with Haryana Roadways, spoke to local media including the Hindustan Timesand gave an eyewitness account of the dramatic rescue.
“I was on my way when I saw a car, being driven at a lot of speed, got disbalanced and crashed into the divider,” he said.
“After the impact, the car landed on the wrong side of the road – the one that goes to Delhi. The car had screeched onto the second lane of the road seeing which I immediately applied the brakes.
“The car had already caught sparks so I and the conductor rushed to get him out of the car. By then the fire has started. Then, three more people came running and got him on a safe side.”
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Susheel said he did not know who Pant was initially as he does not follow cricket, later told by his conductor that the 25-year-old was an Indian cricket star.
“We began to cry for help but no one came,” he added.
“I called the National Highway, no one answered. Then I rang up the police and the conductor called for an ambulance. We kept asking him he is he fine. Offered him some water.
“After regrouping, he told us he is Rishabh Pant. I don’t follow cricket so I didn’t know who he was but my conductor then told me ‘Sushil… he is an India cricketer’.
“He gave us his mother’s number. We called her but her phone was switched off. The ambulance arrived after 15 minutes and we got in him. He had also scattered his money on the road, which we picked up and handed them to him in his hands.
“I asked him if he was alone in the car. He said there is no one. His face was covered in blood and his clothes torn and his back was scratched. He was panicking and limping.”
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Pant had multiple injuries and was first rushed to a nearby hospital before being shifted to a more advanced facility.
“Rishabh has two cuts on his forehead, a ligament tear in his right knee and has also hurt his right wrist, ankle, toe and has suffered abrasion injuries on his back,” Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Jay Shah said in a statement.
“He has now been shifted to Max Hospital, Dehradun, where he will undergo MRI scans to ascertain the extent of his injuries and formulate his further course of treatment.”
Pant’s condition was stable, hospital doctor Ashish Yagnik told reporters. Fans and members of India’s cricket fraternity expressed shock at the news and wished Pant a speedy recovery.
“Praying for Rishabh Pant. Thankfully he is out of danger,” former Test cricketer VVS Laxman said on Twitter.
“Get well soon Champ.”
Pant was on Wednesday left out of the squads for next week’s T20 and ODI tour by Sri Lanka.
His omission came days after his match-winning innings of 93 in the second Test against Bangladesh, helping India secure a 2-0 series whitewash.
