Car on test-drive plunges into 20-ft deep pit, 3 injured

The driver of the vehicle allegedly lost control while speeding. Three persons travelling in the car were rescued by officials of Thane Municipal Corporation’s (TMC) disaster management cell. All three sustained injuries, one of whom has been admitted to a local hospital for treatment

THANE: A Tata Sierra vehicle, wheeled out of Heritage Motors (Tata Motors showroom) in Panchpakhadi, Thane (West) on Tuesday evening, plunged into a 20-feet deep pit of an under-construction building site, after hitting three stationary vehicles – an auto rickshaw and two two-wheelers – and tearing through the barricaded iron sheets of the site.

Thane, India - March -10, 2026:A woman driver lost control of the vehicle while giving a test drive and rammed into a Auto rickshaw and a two-wheeler. The vehicle then crashed through the gate of a construction site near Panchpakhadi and fell into a pit, leaving her injured. In this incident, three people were injured and the rickshaw was damaged. Further investigation is being carried out by the police,in Thane ,in Mumbai, India, on, Tuesday, March -10, 2026. ( Praful Gangurde / HT Photo)

The driver of the vehicle allegedly lost control while speeding. Three persons travelling in the car were rescued by officials of Thane Municipal Corporation’s (TMC) disaster management cell. All three sustained injuries, one of whom has been admitted to a local hospital for treatment.

The residential building site belongs to Ekatva Group.

The driver of the vehicle, Priya Kumari, 36, a resident of Adharwadi, Kalyan, who was at the wheel, suffered injuries in the head and waist, and is being treated at Kaushalya Hospital, Thane.

Mithilesh Paswan, 48, also a resident of Adharwadi, sustained minor injuries, while Chetan Deshmukh, 30, a resident of Nitin Company, Thane, and an employee of the showroom, suffered an injury in the leg.

The disaster management cell received a call about the incident at around 7:28 pm.

Yasin Tadvi, head of the cell, said, “The driver lost control of the vehicle, which first rammed into a parked auto rickshaw and two two-wheelers on the roadside before plunging into the 20-feet deep pit, dug for constructing a residential building. Local residents rushed to the spot and rescued the three occupants trapped inside the car before emergency teams arrived. Fortunately, the airbags deployed during the crash saved the occupants. Two of them sustained only minor injuries, and one was admitted for treatment to Kaushalya Hospital, nearby.”

All vehicles involved in the accident sustained damages. The Tata Sierra was severely damaged, while the auto rickshaw (MH 04 HZ 9383), owned by Hemant Mohite, suffered damages in the front.

The two two-wheelers -- an Activa (MH 04 JG 1511) and a Suzuki Access (MH 04 LC 2242) – were also harmed.

Naupada police is investigating the incident.