Nedumbassery crash: Carmaker’s experts may help retrieve accident dta
EXPERTS from the multinational company that manufactured the luxury car involved in the fatal Nedumbassery accident are likely to assist the police in retrieving crucial crash data from the vehicle, according to sources in the investigation team.
The police plan to seek permission from the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-I, Angamaly, to access the vehicle’s Event Data Recorder (EDR) with the assistance of the manufacturer’s experts.
The company’s representatives had earlier accessed preliminary data from the vehicle as part of the investigation and sent it to the company’s headquarters in Germany for detailed analysis.
The proposed on-site Crash Data Retrieval (CDR) examination is intended to gather additional scientific evidence, particularly to establish the car’s speed when it allegedly collided with an autorickshaw, killing three young people on October 11.
Crash data is retrieved by connecting specialised equipment to the vehicle’s EDR. Although the process can also be carried out remotely, investigators are hoping to take advantage of the manufacturer’s experts, who are expected to visit Kochi shortly.
“We are trying to make use of their services on-site with the court’s permission,” an investigating officer said.
The preliminary EDR analysis has reportedly revealed the time of the collision and electrical failures apparently caused by the impact. The further examination is expected to establish the car’s speed at the time of the crash and whether the driver applied the brakes before the collision, police sources said.
Meanwhile, investigators expressed confidence that they had already gathered sufficient evidence to establish that the car was speeding at the time of the accident.
According to the police, footage recorded on a mobile phone by a co-passenger shows the prime accused, 19-year-old Suhail Sajeev, driving the car at nearly 160 kmph shortly before the crash.
Investigators have also obtained CCTV footage from multiple cameras showing the vehicle covering a distance of 500 metres in 11 seconds. Police sources said the footage suggested that the car was travelling at more than 160 kmph.
A chemical examination report has reportedly found that Sajeev had consumed alcohol at five times the permissible limit for driving, according to sources.
Sajeev and three others have been in judicial custody since their arrest following the October 11 accident.
