Chennai: Racer Ashwin Sundar, wife charred to death as BMW catches fire

National car racing champion Ashwin Sundar and his wife Niveditha were charred to death after their BMW lost control, hit a tree and burst into flames in Pattinampakkam, Chennai in the early hours of Saturday, reported The News Minute.

The couple were returning from a friend's house at MRC Nagar in Raja Annamalaipuram. Ashwin was driving the car and it got stuck between the tree and a wall. Neither him nor his wife could get out in time and were charred to death on the spot. Police officials confirmed that the racer was driving above the allowed speed limit. 

A 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 recovered the bodies of the couple, which were sent to the Government Royapettah Hospital for postmortem.

A video of the burning car was posted on YouTube 

Sundar, who won multiple national championships signed a deal with German racing team Ma Con Motorsport in 2008 and drove for the German Formula Volkswagen ADAC Championship. Nivedhitha was a doctor working at a private hospital.