Professional car racer Ashwin Sundar and his wife Nivedithaa were charred to death after their BMW rammed into a roadside tree in Chennai on Saturday morning. The 27-year-old national racing champion was driving the car when the accident occurred on the city's Santhome High Road.
According to The News Minute, the accident happened at around 3.30 am. The couple was trapped inside the car after they were unable to open its doors which were stuck between the tree and a wall. They died after it caught fire. Police also said that Sundar was driving above the allowed speed limit.
The Times of India reported that the couple was returning from a friend's house at MRC Nagar to their home in Alapakkam. The vehicle was first spotted by passersby, who alerted the Chennai police. Firefighters took nearly half-an-hour to put out the fire, after which the police broke upon the vehicle to recover the bodies. The police was able to identify the couple only through their vehicle registration number.
A video posted by a bystander on Facebook shows the car in flames next to the tree.
The Chennai-born Sundar started his racing career at a young age, and had won the Formula 4 national championship in 2012. His wife was a doctor. The racing fraternity in India mourned his loss on Twitter and Facebook.