Kochi Mercedes-Benz accident victim ran popular wayside eatery for 30 yrs, killed minutes into ride home

Jayabalakrishnan S had just closed his wayside eatery shop (thattukada) near Chittoor temple and was riding home in the early hours of Sunday when a Mercedes-Benz, allegedly driven by a 17-year-old without a driving licence, rammed his scooter, killing him.

The 55-year-old had run the small eatery with his wife, Manju, for nearly 30 years. She would usually accompany him on their ride home but had taken a week's break from work to undergo treatment for varicose veins.

The accident occurred around 2.30 am near the Ford showroom at Maraparambu on Container Road in Cheranalloor. According to police, the teenager, who lives in Aluva, had taken the Mercedes-Benz, 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 Jayabalakrishnan's scooter.

The family had lived near the temple before moving to Ambattubhagom near Manjali in Paravoor around six years ago to facilitate their children's education. Since then, the couple had travelled nearly 20 km on their scooter each day to run the eatery.

“He would open the shop by 4 pm every day and serve vegetarian food, mainly dosa, as it's near the temple. He had a special knack for making tasty food and was a humble, grounded person,” said K G Rajesh, a longtime friend and member of the Cheranalloor panchayat.

“I saw him at the shop yesterday evening as well. His son was also there, helping him, but he might have returned home earlier,” he added. “He had just entered Container Road. The accident spot is barely 1.5 km from the temple, which means he had only just started his journey home after closing the shop. There is no possibility that he had dozed off. He had followed this routine for years and always drove very slowly,” Rajesh said, questioning the circumstances of the crash.

He also disputed claims that the Mercedes-Benz could not be stopped in time. “His scooter was found to one side of the road. The accident was caused by the driver's negligence. The accused is a teenager. It is a Mercedes-Benz, a high-end vehicle. How can one claim that it could not be stopped by applying the brakes? If the driver could not control the vehicle, it raises questions about the speed at which he was travelling,” he added.

Jayabalakrishnan's younger brother, Selvaraj, also called for a thorough investigation, pointing to the extensive damage to the front of the Mercedes-Benz. “How could a car like a Benz sustain such damage after hitting a scooter? The damage itself shows the impact of the collision,” he said.

The family was also troubled by the conduct of the teenager's parents at the police station, Selvaraj alleged. “The accused is the son of a judge. The way his family behaved made us fear that they thought they could get away with anything. My brother supported his family through his hard work and ensured his children received an education,” he said at the Government Medical College Hospital in Kalamassery, where the body had been taken for a postmortem examination.

Jayabalakrishnan is survived by Manju and their three children: Bharatshankar and Bhagyadarshan, both Plus Two students, and Bhadhrakeerthi, who recently joined a job in Hyderabad.

Cheranalloor police took the teenager into custody at the scene, seized the car and registered a case 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.

The crash comes less than two weeks after a fatal accident involving a Mini Cooper on the Airport–Athani road near Nedumbassery on October 11. 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 and CCTV footage from the route provided crucial evidence.