New Delhi/Dehradun: India’s star cricketer Rishabh Pant had a miraculous escape when his luxury car crashed into a road divider and caught fire after he dozed off at the wheel on the Delhi-Dehradun highway in the early hours of Friday.
The 25-year-old, who was on his way to his hometown Roorkee to surprise his mother, suffered injuries on his head, back and feet but is in a stable condition following the accident in Manglaur in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar district around 5.30 am, police said.
The driver and other staff of a Haryana Roadways bus passing by helped the cricketer get out of the burning Mercedes Benz, said Haridwar Senior Superintendent of Police Ajai Singh. The car was completely charred and reduced to a mangled heap.
Pant, who was alone in the car, dozed off and the car hit the divider before bursting into flames, he said.
The bus driver, Sushil Kumar, said he saw the car slamming into the divider, stopped and ran over to help.
“When we reached the car, sparks were rising but it had not yet caught fire. We pulled out the man from the car, laid him down and ran back to the car to see if there were others inside. I saw no one. When we ran back to the man… we saw his limbs moving,” the bus driver told television channels.
“When we went closer, he said I am a cricketer, I am Pant. I had not heard of him but the conductor told me he was a big cricketer,” Kumar said.
As concerns mounted about the extent of his injuries and whether they could impact his game, Dr Sushil Nagar, who treated Pant at the Emergency department of the Roorkee hospital where he was initially taken to, said there was no fracture but a ligament injury to the knee that would require further investigation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among those who sent in their best wishes for his speedy recovery.
“Distressed by the accident of noted cricketer Rishabh Pant. I pray for his good health and well-being. @RishabhPant17,” the prime minister said on Twitter.
India’s cricket board BCCI said in a statement that Pant has two cuts on his forehead, a ligament tear in his right knee. He has also hurt his right wrist, ankle, toe and has suffered abrasion injuries on his back.
He was rushed to Saksham hospital in nearby Roorkee from where he was referred to Max Hospital, Dehradun, about three hours away.
“When he was brought to our hospital, he was fully conscious and I spoke to him. He wanted to surprise his mother and was going back home,” Dr Nagar of Saksham hospital told PTI.
—PTI