35-year-old man crushed under BEST bus in Malad after collision with autorickshaw

The impact threw Vaidya into the path of the bus, and he came into contact with its rear-left wheel.

A sudden turn by an autorickshaw onto a busy road proved fatal for a 35-year-old man in Malad West on Monday afternoon. The rickshaw hit a passing two-wheeler, throwing its two occupants off balance and sending them tumbling towards an oncoming BEST bus. The pillion rider, Saiful Vaidya, was crushed under the bus’s front wheel in the accident in Malwani, while the bike rider suffered injuries and is being treated at Shatabdi hospital.

Autorickshaw veers into two-wheeler, 35-year-old pillion rider crushed under BEST bus in Malad

Vaidya, who hailed from West Bengal, was riding pillion when the accident took place on Marve Road, opposite a petrol pump in the Rathodi area, between 1.30pm and 2.30pm. The Malwani police have registered an FIR against the BEST bus driver and are investigating the circumstances leading to the death.

According to BEST authorities, footage from the bus’s front-facing camera showed an autorickshaw on the left side of the road suddenly turning right. A two-wheeler passing by collided with the rickshaw, causing the motorcyclist to lose balance and crash into the bus travelling alongside. The impact threw Vaidya into the path of the bus, and he came into contact with its rear-left wheel.

According to the conductor, the bus’s front wheel ran over Vaidya’s waist. The driver immediately stopped the vehicle, but Vaidya’s body was trapped beneath the wheel. Police were called to the spot, and the bus was reversed to extricate him.

Vaidya’s body was subsequently sent to Shatabdi Hospital for a post-mortem examination. The police are awaiting the report as part of their investigation. The Malwani police have inspected the accident site and are probing the sequence of events that led to the fatal collision.