Four friends killed after speeding car hits tree during race between two cars in UP’s Ballia

Four youths were killed after one of two cars allegedly racing to overtake each other lost control and crashed into a roadside tree on the Nagra-Belthara Road in Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia district late on Saturday night, police said.The four youths were returning from Nagra Bazaar when one of two cars racing to overtake each other lost control and crashed near Nichuadih.Police officers said that eight friends from Gauvapar village had gone to Nagra Bazaar in two cars. They were returning home late on Saturday night when they started racing.One of the speeding cars lost control near the Nichuadih turn and collided with a palm tree on the roadside, Nagara Police Station Officer Sanjay Mishra said.The four deceased were identified as Abhishek Patel (29), Golu Thakur (23), Kunal Paswan (22) and Dhananjay (26), all residents of Gauvapar. While two of them died on the spot, two others died on the way to the community health centre in Mau.Friends travelling in the other car and bystanders took the injured to the community health centre, where doctors declared two of the men dead on arrival.The bodies were sent for post-mortem examination.