Pothole death: 5-year-old falls off bike in Mumbai, crushed under tempo

The family lives in Ghansoli, Navi Mumbai and Vedant was a student of ASP Public School, Ghansoli.

A five-year-old was crushed under a tempo after he and his parents fell off their bike on hitting a pothole at Ghodbunder Road in Thane on Thursday.

The tempo driver, 45-year-old Avinash Taware, was arrested after he took the boy to hospital, where the latter was declared dead on arrival. (HT image)

This is the third pothole accident in Thane district this year. A 46-year-old woman died in Mumbra in July; and a 49-year-old traffic policeman was killed in Ambernath this month.

The Kasarvadavli police said Vedant Das and his parents were on their way to a relative’s place to celebrate Rakshabandhan when the accident took place, around 11.15am. The parents sustained injuries. “Vikrant Das, 32, was going with his wife and son to Borivli. There is an uneven patch opposite Vedant Hospital, where the concrete and asphalt roads meet. Vikrant’s bike skidded over a pothole, after which his son fell and came under a tempo,” said Kishore Khairnar, senior police inspector.

The family lives in Ghansoli, Navi Mumbai and Vedant was a student of ASP Public School, Ghansoli.

“My bike skidded over a huge crater. Vedant fell on one side and my wife and I fell on the other. A tempo coming from behind ran over my son,” said Das, who works in a car showroom in Kandivli. He said the entire stretch has many craters.

“I am not interested in complaining or protesting against the authorities. It will not help bring my son back,” he said.

The tempo driver, 45-year-old Avinash Taware, was arrested after he took the boy to hospital, where the latter was declared dead on arrival.