'The Speed Should Be 300': Facebook Live Video Of Four Friends Goes Viral Before BMW Crash

Dr Anand Prakash, 35, a professor at a private medical college in Rohtas, was behind the wheel while one of his co-passengers can be heard encouraging him to exceed 300 km/h.

A Facebook Live video of the four people who were killed in a BMW car crash on Purvanchal Expressway in Uttar Pradesh last week has surfaced online. In the video, the friends were aiming to touch a speed of 300 kilometres per hour. During the drivee, one of the friends even made an ill-timed joke -- "chaaro marenge" (all four of us will die) -- which tragically came true.

Dr Anand Prakash, 35, a professor at a private medical college in Rohtas, was behind the wheel while one of his co-passengers can be heard encouraging him to exceed 300 km/h. The speed limit on the expressway is 100 kmph

"Hit 300, we are going live. At least, it should be 290. The speed should be 300," one of the men is heard saying in the video clip. They had no idea that his words would prove prophetic in the next few seconds.

As the driver slowed down after touching a speed of 230 kmph, a passenger is heard saying, "Why are you applying the brakes. Don't slow down. If we slow down, we will not be able to pick up again."

The BMW hit a container-truck coming from the opposite side near Sultanpur on Friday. The four men were hurled out of the car, which turned into a mangled mess after the crash.

Three of the victims were identified as Anand Prakash (35), resident of Dehri in Bihar, Akhilesh Singh (35) and Deepak Kumar (37), both from Aurangabad, Bihar. The authorities are trying to identify the fourth man.

When the accident occurred, they were on their way from Sultanpur to Delhi.

Sultanpur SP Somen Barma said all aspects of the accident were being investigated, and a team had been formed to track down the evading container driver, who has been charged with causing death by negligence pending a technical investigation into the crash.

"A technical inspection of the BMW and the container truck will be performed with the assistance of the forensic state laboratory," the officer stated, news aganecy IANS reported. 

AK Singh, Anand Prakash's uncle, told reporters that his nephew purchased the BMW from the owner of a private educational institution in Delhi.

The expressway, which connects Lucknow to Ghazipur district in eastern Uttar Pradesh, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2021, ahead of the February-March Assembly elections.

(With inputs from agencies)