‘Accident-prone’ divider on EEH hurts five; three critical

According to an official from the Rabodi police station, around 15 cases have been registered in the past two months where the cause of several accidents was the same divider. He said the divider caused many accidents which went unregistered

Mumbai: The city on Sunday witnessed three separate accidents in which six persons were hurt and three are in critical condition with head and leg injuries. Two of these accidents occurred at the divider opposite Jupiter Hospital on Eastern Express Highway (EEH) near Viviana Mall. The third one was reported from the Majiwada flyover in Thane.

Thane, India - September,24, 2023:There have been three separate accidents in Thane during the night, one involving a bike, one involving a car and one involving a truck In this, two people were injured in a bike accident and three people were injured in a car accident, In the photo, this car hit the divider in front of Jupiter hospital and three people were injured ,in Thane, in Mumbai, India, on, Sunday, September, 24, 2023. ( Praful Gangurde / HT Photo )

According to an official from the Rabodi police station, around 15 cases have been registered in the past two months where the cause of several accidents was the same divider. He said the divider caused many accidents which went unregistered. The divider on the EEH was installed two months ago, however, frequent accidents have raised concerns about the structure, said the official.

In the first incident, a compact multi-utility vehicle (MUV) of a cab aggregator service rammed into the divider at around 2am in which a family of three were riding.

The cab driver, Vinod Pal, 24, fled the scene and was later caught by the Rabodi police officials. “It was raining. We had to take the flyover. A bike rider came from the wrong side out of nowhere. I tried to save him by applying brakes immediately and turning away, but instead hit the divider on the left,” said Pal, who suffered minor injuries on the left leg and chest.

The passengers, identified as Rakesh Pawar, Smita Pawar and their four-year-old son Vivan, were rushed to the Jupiter Hospital and continue to be in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Rakesh sustained severe injuries to his head and legs. Vivan’s condition is still critical. “After the accident, the husband was wailing in pain. He seemed to have broken both of his legs. The baby was unconscious, his nose was bleeding. So was the mother’s,” said an eyewitness.

“An FIR has been lodged against the driver under section 279 (rash or negligent driving) and section 336 (act endangering life or personal safety) of Indian Penal Code and section 184 (driving dangerously) of the Motor Vehicles Act,” said Smita Jadhav, senior police inspector, Rabodi police station.

Advising citizens to drive safely and take due precautions, Vinay Rathod, DCP Thane Traffic Police, said, “We have done everything that is possible. If there had been no warning, then we would have been at fault. But there are five safety measures that we have taken to warn the driver – two sets of blinkers have been added, two sets of warning boards are put up and radium strips are also present. We have further suggested Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) to place plastic barricades there.”

“The accidents occur due to an unexpected barrier, but this divider is a must. This helps the people making a U-turn. Before this divider was installed, it was a nightmare for these people,” said traffic police. “Only thing that can be done is to reduce the length of the divider.”

The second accident involved a two-wheeler, which rammed into the same divider around 12.45am. The rider sustained head injury and his wife, the pillion, suffered minor injuries. They were immediately rushed to the Jupiter Hospital and were discharged by 4am.

The third accident occurred right before the Majiwada Highway, where a truck carrying iron rods, entering Thane from Bhiwandi, rammed into a height barrier. The truck driver fled the spot.