BENGALURU: What was meant to be an early-morning joyride turned into a tragedy of unimaginable proportions when a “speeding” SUV was reduced to a mangled heap of metal and shattered glass, snuffing out seven lives — six students, five of them minors, and a bike rider — near Kambalipura Gate in Hoskote taluk of Bengaluru Rural district on Friday.After hitting a bike, the SUV rear-ended a moving truck. In a matter of moments, the Dobbaspet-Hoskote Satellite Town Ring Road (STRR) was transformed into a chilling scene of devastation. Police said the accident occurred between 4.15am and 4.30am.A senior police officer told TOI the SUV was mangled beyond recognition, with all its six occupants found dead inside the vehicle. The deceased were identified as Ahram Sharif, 16; Ashvin Nayar, Eethan George, Ayan Ali, Bharath – all 17 years old; Mohammed Farhan Shaik, 18; and Gagan, 26.Also read: ‘I thought he was studying’: Secret dawn drive turns fatal for 6 boys in Bengaluru While Gagan was riding a bike, the other six were travelling in an XUV 700. Balasubramaniam, 32, the driver of the truck, was injured.

About 15 minutes after the multi-vehicle crash, a Brezza headed towards Bengaluru airport rammed into the truck’s detached axle and wheel housing still lying on road. The car was damaged and its two occupants suffered minor injuries. Naresh, who was driving the Brezza, alerted police. Police said the six students were heading towards Devanahalli from Hoskote when, near Kambalipura Gate, Ayan — who was reportedly driving the XUV 700 at 150-160kmph — lost control while speeding and rammed into the bike ridden by Gagan, flinging him into the air. He died on the spot.

SUV scraped against barrier for 150 metres

The impact was so severe that the truck’s rear axle and housing broke and separated, causing the heavy vehicle to veer off the main carriageway and on to the service road before it toppled. The truck driver, though, escaped with minor injuries. Chandrakanth MV, SP of Bengaluru Rural, said: “After hitting the truck, the SUV crashed into a crash barrier and scraped against it for almost 150m before coming to a halt.”

Ashvin, a resident of Kothanur, and Eethan, from Hulimavu, were I PU students at RV PU College. Ahram, a resident of HV R Layout, and Ayan, of Kothanur, were Class 10 students at CMR School. Bharath, a resident of Frazer Town, was a Class 10 student at Shobhana Memorial School, while Mohammed, from Kammanahalli, was pursuing Class 10 through a correspondence course. Gagan, a resident of Devanayakanahalli in Channarayapatna taluk, was a warehouse supervisor.

Speed limit: 100kmph

The posted speed limit on STRR is 100 kmph. Despite the presence of CCTV cameras and speed radars along the highway, officials were unable to immediately obtain specific footage of the crash. Balasubramani, the driver of the truck that was rear-ended by the SUV, said the impact was sudden and severe. “The road was calm and I was moving steadily in my lane when my vehicle was hit from behind and toppled within seconds. I lost consciousness,” he said. When he came to and looked around from the overturned truck, he was stunned by the scale of the destruction. “The force of the collision was so intense that my truck’s axle and the entire housing were torn apart. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” he said from his hospital bed.