- BMW hit-and-run in 1999 killed six; driver Sanjeev Nanda sentenced to two years jail
- 2025 Noida Lamborghini hit pedestrians; driver Deepak got bail within a day
- Shiv Sena leader's son Mihir Shah caused fatal BMW crash; denied bail by Supreme Court
Luxury cars often symbolise power, status, and speed, but sometimes, that power comes with a tragic cost.
Despite strict laws designed to curb reckless driving, hit-and-run incidents and cases of luxury vehicles striking unsuspecting pedestrians have become an unsettlingly familiar headline. Equally alarming are the instances where underage drivers, ill-equipped to handle these high-performance machines, find themselves behind the wheel during catastrophic accidents.
Indian law is clear: anyone who causes a death through rash or negligent driving and fails to report it can face up to 10 years in prison and fines up to Rs 7 lakh. Yet, the frequency of such tragedies, particularly involving minors, paints a stark picture of how speed, privilege, and carelessness collide on the roads.
Here's a closer look at five of the most high-profile luxury car crash cases over the years.
1. Infamous BMW Case Of 1999
A BMW E38 was involved in a hit-and-run crash in Delhi on January 10, 1999, killing six people, including three police officers. It emerged that Sanjeev Nanda, the grandson of Naval Chief and son of famous arms dealer Suresh Nanda, was involved in the infamous case in which a BMW car driven by him hit seven persons on Lodhi Road, killing six.
Evidence showed that after the accident, Nanda fled the scene, and the car was later washed to destroy evidence by co-accused Rajeev Gupta and others. Several witnesses also turned hostile.
In 2008, the trial court convicted Nanda under Section 304(II) IPC and sentenced him to five years' rigorous imprisonment, while others were punished for tampering with evidence.
On appeal in 2009, the Delhi High Court reduced the conviction to Section 304A IPC and sentenced Nanda to two years' rigorous imprisonment, noting deliberate destruction of evidence and witness manipulation.
Status: In 2012, the Supreme Court restored the trial court's conviction but upheld the reduced sentence of two years, exempting Nanda from returning to jail, while directing him to pay Rs 50 lakh to the Union of India for motor accident victims and perform two years of community service.
2. The Lamborghini Driver Who Secured Bail In A Day
On March 30, 2025, a red Lamborghini struck two pedestrians on a footpath adjacent to an under-construction complex in Noida's Sector 94. A viral video showed the red sports car on the footpath, and workers wearing safety helmets and orange jackets running towards it. They open the door, and a man asks the driver, "Have you learnt a lot of stunts? Do you know how many people have died here?" To which the driver, nonchalantly responds with a question, "Did anyone die here?"
The driver, who later claimed that he was taking a test drive of the car, was seen in the viral video saying, "I gently pressed the accelerator."
The injured workers were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment and were reported out of danger.
Status: On March 31, 2025 just one day after the incident, the accused Deepak, who was driving the ca,r secured a bail from the District Court of Noida.
3. Shiv Sena Leader's Son Mihir Shah's BMW Hit-And-Run case
Son of a Shiv Sena leader, Mihir Shah, aged 24, was arrested on July 9, 2024, two days after he allegedly rammed his BMW into a two-wheeler in Mumbai's Worli area. The accident led to the death of Kaveri Nakhwa (45) and caused injuries to her husband, Pradeep Nakhwa.
According to the prosecution, Shah did not stop after the collision and allegedly sped towards the Bandra-Worli Sea Link. The woman was allegedly dragged on the bonnet of the car before getting entangled in its wheels for over 1.5 kilometres.
Shah's driver, Rajrishi Bidawat, who was also present in the vehicle at the time of the incident, was arrested on the day of the accident.
Case Status: Both Mihir Shah and the driver are currently in judicial custody. The Supreme Court in December 2025 refused to entertain the bail plea of Mihir Shah.
Making sharp observations on privilege and accountability, the Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and AG Masih took note of the fact that Shah belongs to an affluent family and that his father is associated with the Eknath Shinde-led faction of the Shiv Sena.
While declining to intervene, the Court remarked that such cases demand a strong message: "He parks his Mercedes in the shed, takes out his BMW and crashes it and goes missing. Let him be inside for some time. These boys need to be taught a lesson," the Bench observed.
4. Pune Porsche Crash In 2024 By Builder's Son
On May 19, 2024, in Pune's Kalyani Nagar area, a 17-year-old boy drove his father's Porsche while drunk, rammed a motorcycle, and killed two IT professionals, Aneesh Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta
Hours after the accident, the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) granted the minor bail with lenient conditions, including that he write a 300-word essay on road accidents.
This sparked a nationwide outrage against the order, following which the JJB cancelled the bail order and remanded the boy to an observation home. The police also sought permission to try him as an adult. The case also expanded to include arrests of his father and grandfather for alleged evidence tampering and coercion, plus the owners of bars that served the minor alcohol. It was found that the parents of all the minors present in the car tried to swap blood samples to hide that their children were drunk.
Case status: In July 2025, the main accused boy escaped "trial as an adult" because the JJB ruled that the charges he faces do not attract minimum jail terms of seven years or more.
In November, 2025 Supreme Court confirmed the ad-interim bail granted on April 22 to his mother Shivani Agarwal, who had been in judicial custody for over ten months for allegedly switching the blood samples of her 17-year-old son involved in the Pune Porsche crash case.
On February 2, the Supreme Court, while flagging "Parenting Failure", granted bail to three men accused of helping tamper with blood samples, in which two young software engineers were killed. The three, Ashish Mittal, Aditya Sood and Amar Gaikwad, had been in jail for 18 months before that.
5. Kanpur Lamborghini Crash
A Rs 10-crore Lamborghini Revuelto allegedly driven at high speed by Shivam Mishra, son of tobacco businessman KK Mishra, crashed into pedestrians and multiple vehicles on VIP Road in Kanpur's Gwaltoli area, injuring at least six people. Eyewitnesses stated that the car first hit an auto-rickshaw, then a parked motorcycle, flinging its rider into the air, before crashing into an electric pole. After the accident, Mishra allegedly attempted to flee, while his private bouncers tried to shield and extract him from the scene. CCTV footage later surfaced showing security personnel pulling him from the driver's seat, though his lawyer has claimed that a hired driver, not Mishra, was driving at the time.
Case Status: An FIR was initially registered against an "unknown person," drawing criticism, and Shivam Mishra's name was added later as the investigation progressed. The Lamborghini has been seized by the police, CCTV footage and eyewitness statements are being examined, and the investigation is ongoing amid public outrage over alleged delays and preferential treatment.
