Chennai: A 19-year-old college student who was attempting to drive his friend’s car died when the car fell into a farm well near Tiruttani on Tuesday. The victim, Shyam Senthil Kumar, got into his friend's car while his three friends were taking a bath in a small tank after switching on the water pump. Police said the youth did not know how to drive a car but tried his hand at the wheel while the others were busy. The car started rolling along bumpy farm fields and finally ended up in the well of another farm.

Seeing this, the others alerted the villagers and they informed police and fire and rescue personnel. A team of fire personnel rushed to the village and they fished out the car with the body of Shyam inside it. Shyam had walked away with the car key from his friend saying he wanted to drink water from the car and then tried to drive it driving. Police, quoting a farmer, said that Shyam went near the car, opened the door, took a pet bottle and drank water. He then sat in the driver's seat and drove to death.

The RK Pet police have registered a case under the CrPC Section 174 (unnatural death) and sent the body to the government hospital in Tiruttani for autopsy after which they handed over the body to Shyam's family. Shyam was studying second year at an arts and science college in Tiruttani and was on a visit to a village of another student with classmates when the incident happened.