According to police, Davinder Singh, 24, who worked with a property dealer in Mohali and lived in Phase 11, was going to Sector 17 with his friend Balwinder Singh for dinner at 1.30 am. They had just dropped back home a prospective client who was taken to a site visit.

From Phase 11, the Innova was coming towards Chandigarh, while a Punjab Roadways bus from Pathankot was going towards the Sector 43 bus stand. Eyewitnesses said both the vehicles were speeding and did not slow down on reaching the Sectors 45/46/49/50 light point.

The impact of the collision was such that the car overturned after hitting the divider. The bus driver also lost control over the vehicle and once again banged into the car before coming to a halt. The sound of the collision could be heard a kilometre away, police said.

Passengers of the bus immediately pulled out both Davinder and Balwinder of the mangled car. The two, along with three of the injured passengers, were rushed to the Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32. Davinder died on the way. Balwinder’s condition is stated to be critical.

The condition of the bus passengers — Pardeep, Shanti Devi and Ashok Kumar — is out of danger.

Police have arrested the bus driver, Davinder Singh, after registering a case of rash driving and causing death due to negligence. “He (the deceased) was driving fast. I tried to avert an accident and applied brakes, but failed to prevent the collision,” he said.

The body of the deceased was handed over to the relatives after conducting postmortem at the Government Multi-Specialty Hospital in Sector 16.