Kasaragod: In a suspected case of drunk driving, an SUV belonging to the Irrigation Department crashed into a roadside bakery after hitting a car on the state highway at Palakunnu in Udma, Monday evening.

The accident occurred in front of Indiana Hospital Bekal. According to police and witnesses, the jeep was travelling from Kanhangad towards Kasaragod when it first collided with a car and then veered off the road before crashing into a bakery. The vehicle smashed through the bakery’s front counter and came to a halt after hitting a pillar of an adjacent medical store.

A few Irrigation Department officials travelling in the jeep sustained minor injuries. Occupants of the car also escaped with minor injuries, police said. The bakery and the adjoining medical store suffered substantial damage. Shop owners said glass panels, furniture, the counter and the front portion of the shops were damaged in the impact.

Residents alleged that the driver was under the influence of alcohol and blocked attempts to move the vehicle from the scene, demanding a medical examination of the driver. Police arrived and brought the situation under control after speaking to residents. The driver was taken to General Hospital in Kanhangad for medical examination.

Bekal Station House Officer Shivam, an IPS probationer, said there was “some smell” on his breath, but confirmation would depend on the medical report. “There is a limit of 30 (mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood). We will have to see if the reading is more than that,” he said.

The officer said it would take some time for the report to be out. If the reading is more than 30, the driver would be booked for drunk driving, he said.