Speeding SUV kills two as he crashes into taxi at Elphinstone Flyover

The taxi driver and flower vendor were killed instantly, while Vandre survived. All of them were trapped their vehicles and were extricated by members of the public and fire brigade personnel. Vandre has been detained and tested to see whether he was under the influence of alcohol when he crashed the SUV

MUMBAI: A 21-year-old rammed his speeding Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) into a taxi, killing the taxi driver and a female passenger, a 55-year-old flower vendor, on a flyover near the Dadar flower market on Saturday afternoon.

Mumbai, India. Mar 29, 2025: A taxi driver and a female passenger lost their lives after a speeding SUV collided with their taxi on the Senapati Bapat flyover in the Dadar area of Mumbai on Saturday afternoon. Mumbai, India. Mar 29, 2025. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo) (Hindustan Times)

Police said Riyanshu Amar Vandre was speeding on the north-bound lane on the flyover on Senapati Bapat Marg, Parel, when he suddenly crossed into the south-bound lane, colliding head-on with the taxi. The impact was so great that the front half of the taxi was crushed and the SUV somersaulted several times before it hit the railings on the flyover and came to a halt.

The taxi driver and flower vendor were killed instantly, while Vandre survived. All of them were trapped their vehicles and were extricated by members of the public and fire brigade personnel. Vandre has been detained and tested to see whether he was under the influence of alcohol when he crashed the SUV.

Police said Vandre, a resident of Tata Power Colony in Matunga, was driving a Mahindra XUV 700. He is a student of Shah & Anchor Kutchhi Engineering College in Chembur. “We have taken him to Sion Hospital for a medical test to find out if he was drunk during the accident,” said a police officer.

The flower vendor, identified as Rekha Manu Jhavmuriya, 55, a resident of Bakri Adda in Chinchpokli, had boarded the taxi only minutes before the accident. She was headed for Saat Rasta in Mahalaxmi, where she had a flower shop. Since it is Gudi Padwa on Sunday, the demand for flowers and garlands is high, and she had come to the market with her son Amit. He had helped her board a taxi and proceeded to Saat Rasta on his motorcycle, where he planned to wait for his mother,” said Nitesh Gujaria, a family friend. “All of them were rushed to hospital. The doctors declared our aunty dead on arrival,” he said.

The deceased taxi driver has been identified as Shankar Aiyya Goliwada, 65, a resident of MHADA colony, Goregaon.