A 26-year-old man died and his two friends were injured after a car rammed into their vehicle from behind in a service lane along Airport Road in Sector 69 on Saturday night.

The collision caused the victim’s car to crash into a tree, following which the other driver sped away from the scene.

The deceased was identified as Avtar Singh, a native of Sirsa, who worked for a private company in Mohali.

Police said he was travelling from Sector 70 towards Sector 82 in his Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire car, bearing a Haryana number, along with his friends Yadvinder Singh and Harmandeep Singh.

As they reached the service lane opposite Sohana gurdwara intersection, a speeding car (PB-11-2444) hit their vehicle from the rear, causing Avtar to lose control of his car that crashed into a tree.

While Avtar died on the spot, his friends suffered multiple injuries. While his friends were wearing a seat belt, Avtar was not, according to police officials familiar with the case.

As onlookers rushed the victims to Sohana hospital, the accused driver fled the spot.

Police have launched a probe to trace the driver and are also investigating whether the victims were drunk at the time of the accident.

Meanwhile, a case under Sections 281 (rash driving), 106 (1) (causing death by negligence), 125 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 324 (1) (mischief) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita has been registered against the absconding driver.