2 Thane residents killed as car rams into wooden logs on old Pune-Mumbai highway

PUNE Two Thane-based residents were killed after the car they were travelling in, rammed into a pile of wooden logs after a container turned turtle, near Kamshet on old Pune-Mumbai highway at around 4 am on Monday

PUNE Two Thane-based residents were killed after the car they were travelling in, rammed into a pile of wooden logs after a container turned turtle, near Kamshet on old Pune-Mumbai highway at around 4 am on Monday.

Two Thane-based residents were killed after the car they were travelling in, rammed into a pile of wooden logs after a container turned turtle, near Kamshet on old Pune-Mumbai highway at around 4 am on Monday. (REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE)

According to the highway police, the driver of the container truck which was carrying wooden logs, lost control. This caused the truck to turtle, and the logs got untangled and piled up on the other side of the road The car driver crashed into the log pile in the opposite lane going towards Mumbai. Two passengers were killed and one was injured, said police.

The deceased have been identified as Rajendra Kumar Devendra Kumar Jain (44), a resident of Kalwa in Thane and Avtar Gurdial Singh Sehra ( 50), a resident of Kopri. The injured person has been identified as Nitesh Devendra Kumar Jain. He is critical and is admitted to the ICU, said police.

According to the highway police, the incident took place at 4 am on Monday near Kamshet.

Kamshet police station incharge, Sanjay Jagtap said , “ Prima facie it appears that container driver lost the control at the beginning of ghat section after which the truck turned turtle. Due to the accident, the wooden logs spilled onto the opposite land. A Maruti Eeco car which was going towards Mumbai crashed into the pile of timber. Two persons travelling in the car died on the spot and one more is critical.”

Following the accident, a traffic jam was reported for over an hour on the highway, which was later cleared by the police and local volunteers.

An accidental death case has been lodged against the container driver who is yet to be arrested. He has been charged for rash and negligent driving and a probe has been initiated. The wooden logs including the truck are now in the custody of rural police, said officials.