An early morning joyride turned deadly before dawn on Friday, February 13, 2026, when an SUV speeding at over 150 kilometers per hour caused a chain-reaction collision on the outskirts of Bengaluru, India. The crash killed all six students riding in the SUV as well as a motorcyclist heading home after his shift. The terrible accident happened on the Hoskote-Dabaspet National Highway near Kambalipura Gate between 4:15 and 4:30 a.m., leaving the SUV crushed beyond recognition.
Investigators learned that the six students—five of them minors and one aged 18—left their homes around 3 a.m. without telling their families. The driver, 17-year-old Ayaan Ali, had taken his father’s XUV 700 and gathered his friends for what they thought would be an early morning outing on the highway linking Hoskote and Devanahalli.
According to police, the crash began when Ali, reportedly traveling between 150 and 160 kmph on a road limited to 100 kmph, rammed a motorcycle from behind. The rider, 26-year-old Gagan, a supervisor at Safal Market from Devanayakanahalli, was thrown into the air upon impact and died instantly. He had been on his usual commute home after finishing his night shift, a routine he followed daily.
Following the initial collision, the SUV veered out of control and smashed into a truck ahead. The impact was so intense that it tore apart the truck’s rear axle and housing, causing the heavy vehicle to overturn onto the service road. The SUV then hit a crash barrier and scraped along it for nearly 150 meters before stopping.
The truck driver, 32-year-old Balasubramani, was injured but survived. “The road was quiet, and I was driving normally in my lane when something hit my truck from behind and it toppled in seconds,” he recounted from his hospital bed.
All six students inside the SUV were found dead. Police named them as Ayaan Ali, 17, a Class 10 student from Kothanur; Arhaan Sharif, 16, a Class 10 student from HBR Layout; Ashwin Nair, 17, a first-year PU student from Kothanur; Ethan George, 17, also a first-year PU student from Hulimavu; Bharath, 17, a Class 10 student from Frazer Town; and Mohammed Farhan Shaik, 18, enrolled in Class 10 through correspondence and residing in Kammanahalli.
The situation worsened about 15 minutes later when a car heading toward Bengaluru airport struck the truck’s dislodged axle still lying on the highway. The two people in that car received minor injuries.
By around 11 a.m., grieving parents arrived at the Hoskote Government Hospital, struggling to absorb the news. Many had assumed their children were asleep at home. Initially, police had told families their children were seriously hurt, leaving them unprepared for the devastating truth awaiting them at the mortuary.
For Gagan’s family, the loss was especially heartbreaking. The 26-year-old was the primary provider for his visually impaired mother and the only son after his father’s passing. His uncle Devaraj told reporters, “Gagan was the pillar of our house.”
Investigators noted that even though CCTV cameras and speed radars are installed along the highway, they were unable to immediately retrieve clear footage of the event. The multi-vehicle accident occurred on the Dabaspet-Hoskote Satellite Town Ring Road, where the posted speed limit is 100 kilometers per hour—far below the SUV’s estimated speed.
The SUV, an XUV 700, was crushed into a mangled mass of metal and shattered glass, making it difficult for first responders to identify the victims.
Police have launched a full inquiry into the crash, including whether alcohol or other substances were involved. The Dabaspet-Hoskote Satellite Town Ring Road, normally quiet in the early morning, became the site of one of Bengaluru’s most tragic accidents in recent years, taking seven young lives in mere seconds.
