Multiple teams formed to probe crash

The police officer said the vehicle was apparently travelling at an average speed of 90 kms per hour

Mumbai: The Mercedes-Benz GLC in which former chairman of Tata Sons, Cyrus Mistry, was travelling had covered a distance of 21 kilometres in just 14 minutes, said the Palghar police. The police have found that the high-end SUV had reached Talasari RTO check post around 2.12pm on Sunday and reached the accident spot around 2.26pm.

The officer said their preliminary assessment is also supported by eyewitness accounts (PTI)

The police officer said the vehicle was apparently travelling at an average speed of 90 kms per hour. “Our preliminary observation is that the accident was a result of ‘error of judgement’ on part of the driver, as it had taken place where the six-lane highway becomes four-lane, from where one has to take the bridge to move towards Mumbai,” said a senior police officer.

The officer said their preliminary assessment is also supported by eyewitness accounts. “The vehicle, it seems, was on the third lane and went to take the bridge and then crashed into its concrete barrier. The intensity of the crash can be gauged from the fact that the engine of the vehicle went behind the wheels. It is also an indicator of the high speed at which the vehicle crashed,” the officer added.

After deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis instructed the Director General of Police (DGP) to conduct a detailed probe in the incident, the investigation was entrusted to Palghar sub-divisional police officer Prashant Pardeshi.

“We have formed five teams which are checking all aspects related to the accident,” said Balasaheb Patil, superintendent of police, Palghar.

Another police official said an expert team from Pune office of the Mercedes Benz was also reaching Palghar to inspect the car and help the police ascertain how the accident might have taken place.

The police said the team will also help them check the suspicion that the rear seat passengers -- Cyrus Mistry and Jehangir Pandole -- both of whom died in the accident were not wearing the seat-belts.

Non-profit organization SaveLIFE Foundation, which is working for road safety and emergency medical care was also helping the police teams in probing the accident. Besides, a team from Kalina forensic science laboratory and Regional Transport Officers will also visit the spot to inspect the vehicle and submit their separate reports about the accident to the police. “We have asked them to recreate the accident scene on the basis of available technical data,” said a senior police officer.

Police officials said that a clear picture is expected to emerge from various reports to be prepared by RTO, FSL and SaveLIFE Foundation.

“Also, the statements of Dr Anahita Pandole who was driving the car and her husband Darius Pandole will clear the facts further. We have been unable to record their statements till now, as both are admitted in a hospital in Mumbai,” said a police officer.

On Sunday afternoon Cyrus Mistry former chairman of Tata Sons and Jehangir Pandole, brother of Darius, who were returning from Parsi pilgrim town of Udvada, died when their car crashed into a concrete sidewall at Charoti bridge in Palghar.

After the accident Dr Pandole and her husband were shifted to a private hospital in Vapi for treatment and have been brought to Mumbai and admitted in Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital in South Mumbai.