Kochi: Days after a Mini Cooper crash claimed the lives of three youths travelling on a scooter, another luxury car accident in Kochi killed a scooter rider in the early hours of Sunday. The car involved was a Mercedes-Benz allegedly driven by a 17-year-old student, the son of a court judge.

The accident occurred around 2.20 am near the Ford showroom at Maraparambu on Container Road in Cheranalloor. The deceased, Jayabalakrishnan (51), was a resident of Nelluvelil, South Chittoor, in Cheranalloor.

According to Cheranalloor police, the teenager, who lives in Aluva, had taken the Mercedes-Benz (KL 46 F 0333), registered in his father's name, without his parents' knowledge. He was alone in the car and was travelling from Vallarpadam towards Kalamassery when it hit the scooter, which was moving in the same direction.

According to the police, the teenager told investigators that it was raining and Jayabalakrishnan suddenly changed direction to avoid waterlogging on the road. The teenager claimed he could not avoid the collision as the scooter changed direction abruptly. The car stopped a few metres away. Residents who heard the impact rushed to the scene, but Jayabalakrishnan succumbed to his injuries.

Police took the teenager into custody at the scene and seized the car. A case was registered under Sections 281 and 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), pertaining to rash driving on a public way and causing death by negligence, respectively.

Jayabalakrishnan's body was shifted to the Government Medical College Hospital in Kalamassery for a postmortem examination and will be handed over to his family after the procedure.

Police told Onmanorama that further investigation, including witness examination and scrutiny of available CCTV footage, was underway to establish the circumstances of the accident.

The incident comes less than two weeks after a fatal crash involving a Mini Cooper on October 11 on the Airport–Athani road near Nedumbassery in Kochi. The car, driven by 19-year-old Suhail Sajeev, collided with a scooter carrying Eyas, Gopika and Devika at around 1.41 am, killing all three.

Investigators later found evidence indicating that the Mini Cooper had been travelling at more than 160 kmph around the time of the collision. A video recovered from a co-accused's mobile phone, along with CCTV footage from the accident route, provided crucial evidence.

Jayabalakrishnan was returning home after closing the wayside eatery he runs near a temple at Chittoor when the accident occurred. “He usually returns home between 2 am and 2.30 am and drives very slowly. His wife usually accompanies him, but she did not go to the shop that day because of health issues. The couple have three children,” his niece, Jayalakshmi, told the media.

She said the police informed her that the accused was the son of a district judge. “We visited the accident spot and found that the car had stopped more than half a kilometre away, while my uncle's body was recovered from the nearby service road. The accident occurred on the bypass road, and the distance suggests the impact was severe,” she said.

Jayalakshmi also alleged that the minor's father spoke rudely to her at the police station. Claiming that the car could have been travelling at around 100 kmph, she demanded stringent action against the teenager and his parents for allegedly allowing a minor to drive.