Pune car crash: Was asked to let his son drive, driver tells cops

PUNE: The grandfather of the 17-year-old involved in the fatal Porsche Taycan crash in Pune around 2.30am on Sunday recorded his statement with the city crime branch on Thursday, claiming he handed over the more than Rs 2 crore electric luxury sedan’s keys to his grandson after consulting his son, the boy’s father – a prominent builder who was arrested Tuesday.
Yerawada police are investigating the crash that killed Anish Awadhia and Ashwini Kosta, both 24-year-old software engineers from Jabalpur in MP, when the Porsche collided with a motorcycle at 160kmph near a pub. Crime branch is handling a second FIR against the father for allowing his underage son to drive without a licence.
Also, six staffers from Cosie and Blak Marriott pubs in Pune’s Mundhwa are being investigated for serving alcohol to minors, including the teenager. All six accused are in police custody until Friday.
DCP (crime) Amol Zende explained that the grandfather’s statement was necessary to establish the sequence of events leading up to the accident. As per his testimony, the teen informed his family Wednesday night that he and his friends were celebrating their Class XII results. Following a consultation with his son, the grandfather handed over the car keys and a credit card for the party expenses.
“The grandfather said that he was not aware about the consequences of handing over the keys of the car to his minor grandson,” the DCP said. “The family’s driver told us that the teenager drove the Porsche from their Wadgaon Sheri bungalow to Cosie and later to Blak Marriott pub. The driver and another employee followed the Porsche in another four-wheeler. After partying at Blak Marriott, the driver drove the Porsche out of the pub’s valet.”
According to driver, the teenager insisted on driving the Porsche despite being drunk, Zende said. “The driver called the teen’s father, who instructed him to let his son drive. He asked him to sit in the passenger seat. The driver complied, and the teenager drove with two friends in the back seats before the accident occurred,” the officer said.
In further developments, a crime branch cop confirmed the confiscation of the builder’s phone and digital video recorders from his home and other establishments along the Pune-Ahmednagar road.