Archive · 13 Aug 2026
Woman Drowns After Car Plunges Into Pond During Driving Practice
A woman in Kolkata, India, wanted to learn how to drive a car.
Her family had just bought a brand-new car.
She took her daughter to school first, and then she went out alone to practise driving.
She did not have a driving licence yet, and her driving test was planned for August 22.
While she was driving, her car went into a pond and sank very quickly.
Police think she pressed the wrong pedal - the accelerator instead of the brake - by mistake.
She tried hard to get out of the car, but she could not escape.
Firefighters and police worked for about an hour and a half to pull the car out of the water.
Sadly, by then the woman had already died, and police believe she drowned.
Police now say learners should never practise alone and must always be accompanied by a licensed driver.
Sumitra Das, a resident of Prafulla Kanan in Kolkata's Keshtopur area (reported as 42 in one article and 35 in another), died after her husband's newly bought Hyundai Eon plunged into a pond on Wednesday.
She had dropped her daughter at school before taking the car out alone to practise for a driving test scheduled for August 22.
Police suspect she mistakenly pressed the accelerator instead of the brake, causing the car to speed into the pond, which sank to a depth of nearly 12 feet.
Fire and emergency teams took about 90 minutes to pull the car out; her body was found near the back of the car with her feet by the steering wheel, and police suspect she died by drowning.
Police and transport officials noted she had no licence or supervising driver, and warned that learners must hold a learner's licence and be accompanied by a licensed driver at all times.
- Who
- Sumitra Das, a resident of Prafulla Kanan in the Keshtopur (Kestopur) area of Kolkata, reported as 42 in some articles and 35 in another, and wife of Krishnendu Das.
- What
- Her husband's newly purchased red Hyundai Eon plunged into a pond while she practised driving alone without a licence; she died, with police suspecting drowning.
- When
- Wednesday, around 9am.
- Where
- A pond near her home in Prafulla Kanan, Keshtopur (Kestopur), about 200 metres from VIP Road, Kolkata.
- Why
- Police suspect she mistakenly pressed the accelerator instead of the brake; she was practising without a licence or an accompanying licensed driver ahead of her August 22 driving test.
- Deceased
- Sumitra Das (reported ages differ: 42 and 35)
- Location
- Prafulla Kanan, Keshtopur (Kestopur), Kolkata; about 200 metres from VIP Road
- Vehicle
- Red Hyundai Eon, recently purchased by husband Krishnendu Das
- Incident time
- Around 9am on Wednesday
- Driving test date
- August 22
- Licence status
- No licence; practising alone without a supervising driver
- Rescue
- Fire brigade and police recovered the car in about 90 minutes
- Suspected cause
- Accelerator pressed instead of brake; probable death by drowning
