Ashwin and his wife, who was a doctor, were trapped inside the car as they could not open the doors, the police said after initial investigation.
In a tragic incident, professional car racer Ashwin Sundar and his wife Nivedhitha were charred to death after their BMW car hit a roadside tree on the Santhome High Road here in the early hours of Saturday.
Ashwin and his wife, who was a doctor, were trapped inside the car as they could not open the doors, the police said after initial investigation.
Ashwin is a former national champion, having won the Formula 4 national title twice. He had also won the MRF Formula 1600 International Challenge competition on two occasions.
Police suspect the accident happened because of over-speeding. Ashwin was driving the car. After the impact, the car got stuck between the tree and a wall, with the car then catching fire.
Passersby, who saw the vehicle on fire, alerted the Chennai city police control room, and a team of police personnel from the Adyar traffic investigation wing rushed to the spot. They put out the fire after half-an-hour.
According to the couple's friends and relatives, Ashwin and Niveditha were heading to their home at Alapakkam near Porur after having dinner at a five-star hotel. Niveditha, a Sri Lankan national, had recently completed Bachelor of Medicine from Sri Ramachandra University.
Since Niveditha just completed her course, the couple had planned to go on a honeymoon in a few days, the relatives added. They also said that Ashwin is a teetotaler, and never drives over-speeds the car.
"Ashwin had been telling that he wanted to sell off this BMW car since he is planning to replace it," Kiran, Ashwin's friend, said at the Royapettah Government Hospital where the couple's mortal remains are kept.
He added that by the time he reached the spot after a call from police, the car was fully engulfed in flames.
"The police gave me a SIM card and asked me to check it. When I inserted it in a phone and called to mine, it turned out to be Niveditha's number. Only then did we realise that they are no more," Kiran said.
Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) chief Akbar Ebrahim and former Indian F1 driver Karun Chandhok have condoled the deaths.
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