E-Paper
Woman crossing road while using phone hit by heavy vehicle, dies
23-year-old woman from Amravati was crushed to death by cement mixer when crossing the road while speaking on her mobile, police said
PUNE: In yet another instance of a mobile phone-related fatality, a woman, 23, from Amravati, was crushed to death by a cement mixer when crossing the road while speaking on her mobile, the police said. The accident occurred on Wednesday at around 11.30 am in front of the Kothrud bus stand on Karve Road.
The deceased, identified as Aarti Suresh Manwani, a resident of Bhelke Nagar, Kothrud, originally hails from Amravati city. She was working with a private company located in Nanded City and living in a hostel, the police said. On Wednesday, she had come to the Kothrud bus stand from where it was decided that her friend would pick her up. Aarti made the grave mistake of trying to cross Karve Road while speaking on her mobile to her friend who was coming to pick her up. Suddenly, she was hit by a speeding cement mixer headed towards SNDT College. Locals who witnessed the accident said it was so horrible that Aarti’s head was crushed under two tyres of the cement mixer.
Salim Pathan, an auto-rickshaw driver and an eyewitness, said, “The deceased was talking on her phone and trying to cross the road when she was knocked down by a speeding cement mixer. I approached the mixer driver but he fled from the spot.”
Pathan said that not only was there no road crossing where the accident occurred but the deceased was busy talking on her phone and unaware of her surroundings. If she had taken the zebra crossing at Konkan Express Chowk, she might have been saved, he said.
The accused cement mixer driver, Sikkim Ansari, 23, from Uttar Pradesh - who fled from the spot - was later arrested by the police from Warje-Malwadi area of the city.
Sunita Rokade, senior police inspector at Alankar police station, said, “The cement mixer was coming from Warje and was headed towards SNDT College. This is a known black spot where drivers do not anticipate anyone crossing the road.”
“I want to appeal to people to use the zebra crossing and please refrain from talking on their mobile phones while crossing the road,” she said.
As per the complaint filed by Pathan, a case has been registered against Ansari under sections 106, 106 (2) and 281 of the BNS and sections 134 and 119/177 and further investigation is underway.
