Grandson of former MLA rams car into pillar, dies

Grandson of former MLA dies in car accident after ramming his car into a pillar on Palm Beach Road in Navi Mumbai. He was flung out of the car and the vehicle caught fire. The cause of the accident is still under investigation.

Navi Mumbai: The grandson of former MLA Sitaram Ghandat died in a car accident as he rammed his car into a pillar on Palm Beach Road in the early hours of Friday. According to police, the accident happened on the service road near NRI Estate on Palm Beach Road, when Saahil Vijay Wankhedkar, 28, resident of Sanpada, had stepped out for a drive.

HT Image

Wankhedkar was going towards Belapur at high speed when he rammed into the pillar of the Nerul-Uran Railway bridge. The impact of the collision was so grave that he was flung out of the car and the car burst into flames.

After NRI Coastal police got the information, the fire brigade was called in to douse the fire, and Wankhedkar was rushed to hospital but was declared dead on arrival.

“We have not been able to record the statement of the mother as she is not in a condition to talk. His father, who worked in Mantralaya had passed away during covid. His friends and relatives told us that he sometimes goes out for drives, and they are assuming that the accident happened during one such drive,” a police officer from NRI Coastal police station said.

“We are yet to get any more information about the deceased. His friends told us that he used to make reels, but we are not sure if he was an influencer and what else he did for a living. Once we record the statement of the mother, we will get a better idea,” the officer added. According to police, he used to stay with his younger sister and mother in a Sanpada apartment.

A case has been registered against Wankhedkar under sections 304 (A) (causing death due to negligence), 279 (rash driving), and 427 (mischief causing damage) of the Indian Penal Code and 184 (driving dangerously) of the Motor Vehicle Act (MVA).