LUCKNOW: A late-night drive nearly ended in tragedy when a car, blindly following navigation app directions, ended up hanging off the edge of an unfinished flyover in Uttar Pradesh’s Maharajganj district. The driver, a young man from Lucknow heading toward Nepal via Gorakhpur, had no idea he was speeding toward a dead end until the final moments.
The incident occurred around 1 a.m. on the Gorakhpur-Sonauli national highway near Bhaiya Pharenda village. Relying entirely on his digital map, the driver followed directions that took him onto an under-construction flyover with no barricades, warning signs, or diversion notices in place.
Unaware of the danger ahead, he ascended the incomplete structure at high speed. It wasn’t until his headlights illuminated the abrupt end of the bridge that he realized something was wrong. Acting on instinct, he hit the brakes—but momentum carried the vehicle forward. The car skidded and lurched off the edge, eventually coming to rest on a mound of rubble and soft earth just beneath the flyover. A few more inches and it could have been a fatal plunge.
Miraculously, the driver sustained only minor injuries. Shaken, he managed to climb out of the car and fled the scene on foot. When officers from Pharenda police station arrived shortly after, they found the car abandoned.
The vehicle, which was registered in Lucknow and owned by Haris Siddiqui of Ramgarh (Gorakhpur), was eventually returned in the presence of two witnesses. Siddiqui declined to file a complaint, possibly still in shock over the near-miss.
Pharenda SHO Shant Pathak confirmed the driver had escaped with minor injuries and said an investigation is ongoing. Authorities are also looking into how such a major construction site lacked basic safety measures that could have prevented the incident.
