THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Accident witnesses Shafeeq and Manikuttan have told media that it was Survey Director Sriram Venkitaraman who was driving the car at the time of the accident that killed Siraj daily Thiruvananthapuram unit chief scribe K M Basheer on Saturday.

“The car that zoomed through the road in front of the Public office near Museum, lost control, swerved off the road and rammed the bike on which Basheer was sitting. The bike was parked on the road side. In the impact of crash, the bike and victim was thrown to the wall of the Public Office.

Though Sriram was injured, he got out of the car, took Basheer from the bike and laid him on the road side. Soon the police men from the Museum police station reached the spot and shifted Sriram to hospital, they said.

Shafeeq said seeing the speeding car dashing towards Museum road from Vellayambalam junction, he rode his auto by the road side in order to give way for the over speeding car.

“Sriram himself was driving the car at a tremendous speed and he was drunk,” said auto driver Manikuttan who at the spot at the time of the accident.