NEW DELHI (TIP): Star cricketer Rishabh Pant had a miraculous escape when his car crashed into a road divider and caught fire after he reportedly dozed off at the wheel on the Delhi-Dehradun highway in the early hours of Friday. The 25-year-old, who was on his way to his hometown Roorkee to surprise his mother, suffered injuries on his head, back and feet, but is in a stable condition following the accident at Manglaur in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar district around 5.30 am, the police said. The driver and other staff of a Haryana Roadways bus helped the cricketer get out of the burning Mercedes Benz, said Haridwar SSP Ajai Singh. The car was completely charred and reduced to a mangled heap.

Pant, who was alone in the car, reportedly dozed off and the car hit the divider before bursting into flames, he said. The bus driver, Sushil Kumar, said he saw the car ramming into the divider and ran over to help. Dr Sushil Nagar, who treated Pant at a Roorkee hospital where he was initially taken, said there was no fracture, but a ligament injury in the knee. He was later taken to Max Hospital, Dehradun.

PM Narendra Modi was among those who sent in their best wishes for his speedy recovery. “Distressed by the accident of noted cricketer Rishabh Pant. I pray for his good health and well-being,” he tweeted. The Haryana Government, meanwhile, said it would honor driver Sushil Singh and conductor Paramjit for rescuing the cricketer from his blazing car.

(Source: PTI)