2 killed in street race on DVP

Jul 07, 2009 02:22 AM
Madeleine White
STAFF REPORTER

Two young men are dead and a woman is seriously injured after a two-seater turbo convertible rolled over a guardrail on the Don Valley Parkway last night in what police say was a horrific instance of street racing.

Little is known of where or why the race started between a red Nissan 300 ZX convertible and a mysterious white sports car.

But a stream of drivers on the DVP witnessed the gruesome crash that ended it just south of the Eglinton Ave. E. exit and shut down the northbound lanes north of Don Mills Rd. for the night.

"It's one of the more memorable scenes [I've been to] ... It's a bad one," said Sgt. Tim Burrows of Toronto Traffic Services.

"We have some witnesses who are describing what is commonly referred (to) as a street race," he said.

According to initial reports, the two cars collided and the Nissan convertible hurtled into the outer guardrail, tearing off a 12-metre section. The white car did not remain at the scene.

The totalled Nissan was barely recognizable after the crash.

"You can tell from the back end of the car what kind of car it was. Other than that, nothing," said Burrows.

"The front, the driver's side, it's all destroyed."

There were three people in what police described as a two-seater.

The Nissan was registered to a Roma Bhagiratti. Last night, a relative at the Bhagiratti home in Scarborough identified the driver as Adam Bhagiratti, 21.

His Facebook profile includes photos, in a shared album called "Fine Men With Fine Cars," of a red Nissan 300 sitting beside a white sports car that appears to be a Mitsubishi Lancer. An electronic "tag" on the white car names one of Bhagiratti's Facebook friends - a young man who created the photo album.

Bhagiratti was the only one in the Nissan wearing a seat belt and was trapped in the car. Emergency crews tore the roof off the convertible to reach him but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

"Seat belts are designed to keep you in the vehicle ... and the driver was wearing his seat belt. Had his injuries from the impact not been so substantial he may still be with us," said Burrows.

The two riders, who were crammed into the sole passenger seat, were flung out of the car. Neither was wearing a seat belt.

The male passenger, 20, was lying lifeless in bloody grass when the first officer arrived on scene. Police tried to resuscitate him but he was dead before the first ambulance arrived.

The female passenger, 21, was rushed to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. She is expected to recover.

Officers are still trying to piece together what exactly happened. The white sports car seems to hold a lot of the answers.

"At times we do know there have been cases when [racers] did know each other," said Burrows. "And probably just as many times when it's two people flexing their muscles trying to prove they have a faster car."

Even when there is no contact between speeding cars, drivers that don't stop at the scene of the accident can still be charged with failing to remain.

Alcohol is also being examined as a possible factor.

"To put it bluntly, the stupidity that is shown at this level, when people are driving like this, you wouldn't be surprised if alcohol was involved in many of these cases," said Burrows. "But at the same time, you don't need alcohol to make bad judgments, it just helps those bad judgments occur more often."

Concern over several fatal street-racing accidents prompted the Ontario government to pass stunt-driving legislation in May 2008. OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino said the law's fines of up to $10,000, automatic licence suspensions and the impounding of suspected racers' vehicles for seven days was needed to stop "senseless carnage" on Ontario highways.

Street-racing related deaths in the GTA have included racers, such as Darren D'Souza, 20, of Mississauga, in September 2008, and innocent bystanders, such as taxi driver Tahir Khan, killed by two young men racing up Mount Pleasant Rd. in January 2006.

Last night the DVP's northbound lanes were closed north of Don Mills Rd. shortly after 8:30 p.m., causing a massive traffic jam.

Drivers stuck between Don Mills and Eglinton were allowed to pass the crash scene by driving slowly on the outside shoulder in single file.

The DVP is expected to reopen for the morning rush.

With files from Henry Stancu