Mumbai: Cement truck hits wrong-lane vehicles; pile-up leaves four injured

Four people were injured and 14 vehicles damaged in a chain collision on Friday morning. The truck driver fled the spot and is yet to be traced

Thane: Four people were injured and 14 vehicles damaged in a chain collision on Friday morning after a cement-laden truck descending the Gaimukh ghat rammed into vehicles coming from the wrong direction on Ghodbunder Road while heading towards Thane, police said.

The accident took place around 6.30 am near the Gaimukh traffic outpost on the Thane-bound lane. (Representative photo)

The accident took place around 6.30 am near the Gaimukh traffic outpost on the Thane-bound lane. The truck driver fled the spot after the accident and is yet to be traced.

According to police officers, the truck hit approximately 11 to 12 four-wheelers and three-wheelers that were travelling on the wrong side of the road.

Police took all the injured to a private hospital in Waghbil for treatment.

The injured include auto-rickshaw driver Shivkumar Bechu Prasad Yadav (56), Ola car driver Rambali Babulal (22), and auto-rickshaw passengers Anita Dinesh Petwal (45) and Taskir Shafiq Ahmed Sheikh (45).

“Shafiq has suffered facial injuries and damage to his backbone. The doctors at Titan Medicity Hospital performed a minor surgery and said that he will require plastic surgery due to the severe damage,” Sheikh’s relative Abdul Rehman Pathan said.

“Post-accident, there was an oil spill on the road. Our team, with the help of the fire brigade, cleared the oil to avoid vehicle slips on the road,” Thane disaster management cell head Yasin Tadvi said.

Following the accident, there was heavy congestion till the Vasai Creek Bridge ahead of Fountain Road. As Ghodbunder Road is a crucial traffic corridor, the police have appealed to motorists to follow traffic rules and exercise special caution, particularly in the ghat section.

Thane Deputy Commissioner of Police (traffic) Pankaj Shirsat said, “The cars and auto-rickshaws were going in the wrong lane towards Mira Road, and a cement-laden heavy truck was coming down towards Thane from the elevated ghat section and hit these vehicles. Fortunately, the truck driver controlled the vehicle in time, avoiding any fatalities. We used five cranes, including Hydra cranes, to remove the damaged vehicles, and the road was completely cleared by 11.30 am for traffic.”