Suhail drove Mini Cooper at over 160 km/h before fatal crash, police suspect

KOCHI : A Mini Cooper involved in a crash that killed three people in Kerala’s Nedumbassery was approaching 160 kilometres per hour shortly before the collision, according to video evidence recovered by investigators, Onmanorama reported on Friday, citing police sources.

Investigators believe the car may have exceeded 160 km/h when it crashed at 1:41 a.m., the report said. Its precise speed at impact remains unconfirmed pending forensic examination of the vehicle’s Event Data Recorder.

A video recovered from the mobile phone of a co-accused seated in the rear of the car showed the dashboard speedometer rising from about 140 km/h to nearly 160 km/h between 1:40 a.m. and 1:41 a.m., according to the report.

Police identified Suhail Sajeev, the principal accused in the case, as the driver.

Investigators also analysed footage from five high-definition surveillance cameras along a 500-metre section of the Athani–Nedumbassery Airport Road leading to the crash site. The road is maintained and monitored by Cochin International Airport Limited.

Using timestamps from the cameras, police calculated that the car covered the stretch in about 11 seconds, indicating an average speed of roughly 163 km/h, the report said.

The phone recording and surveillance footage provide separate evidence of the vehicle’s speed before the collision, although neither establishes its exact speed at impact.

During an initial reconstruction at the scene, Suhail reportedly told investigators he had been driving at about 120 km/h.

Surveillance analysis also indicated that the car had travelled along the same stretch twice before the fatal collision, at similarly high speeds, according to the report. Police are examining the footage to reconstruct the sequence of events and assess the conduct of those inside the vehicle.

Investigators have also examined posts on Suhail’s Instagram account that allegedly showed him driving vehicles at speeds of up to 220 km/h, the report said.

Police are seeking a forensic examination of the Mini Cooper’s Event Data Recorder at a specialised BMW facility in Germany. Investigators hope to recover information on speed, braking, accelerator input and steering immediately before the collision.

Aluva Deputy Superintendent of Police Baiju Paulose, who is leading the investigation, is also recording detailed statements from the families of the three people killed, according to the report.