22-yr-old held in Taloja hit-and-run that killed 1

NAVI MUMBAI: A 22-year-old man was arrested for allegedly driving an SUV recklessly through Taloja on Tuesday, killing a scooter rider, injuring five others and fleeing the scene without helping the victims, police said

NAVI MUMBAI: A 22-year-old man was arrested for allegedly driving an SUV recklessly through Taloja on Tuesday, killing a scooter rider, injuring five others and fleeing the scene without helping the victims, police said.

The accused, Arfat Sabir Patel, a student from Taloja Panchanand, was arrested by Taloja police on Tuesday night.

According to police, the accident occurred around 12:15 pm outside Devashish Co-operative Society in Taloja Phase I. Patel was allegedly driving a Mahindra SUV recklessly and at excessive speed when he first hit a scooter ridden by Nadim Azam Khan, 37, who later succumbed to his injuries.

The SUV then allegedly crashed into a tempo driven by complainant Mohammad Gulfaraj Md. Nasim Sheikh, dragging it for nearly 40 feet before triggering a chain collision involving two to three motorcycles, an autorickshaw, another tempo and pedestrians.

Five persons, including the complainant, were injured. The others were identified as Sharafuddin Shakir Ali Beg, 43, Ramdulare Ramsahay Gupta, 37, Vighnesh Santosh Pansare, 17, and Patiya alias Sunny Mahendra Nishad.

Senior police inspector Pravin Bhagat said Patel said the accused first hit one vehicle due to an error of judgement. “During interrogation he said that due to an error of judgement he rammed onto one vehicle and later on ended up pressing the accelerator instead of brake. Following the accident the accused had fled from the scene ,” said Bhagat.

Police said that after the accident, the Patel abandoned the scene without informing authorities or arranging medical assistance for the injured, prompting additional charges under the Motor Vehicles Act. Following the complaint, police arrested Patel late Tuesday night and produced him before the court on Wednesday morning. He has been remanded him to police custody till Saturday.