E-Paper
Truck overturns, crushes five bikers on old Mumbai-Pune highway
Five bikers, who were standing by the road, were crushed by a truck after it toppled on them in Khalapur on the old Mumbai-Pune highway late on Sunday.
Five bikers, who were standing by the road, were crushed by a truck after it toppled on them in Khalapur on the old Mumbai-Pune highway late on Sunday.
According to the Khopoli police, the five — Pradip Chole, 38; Amol Chilme, 30; Arjun Gundale, 28; Narayan Gundale, 26; Govind Nalwad, 20 — were returning from Alibaug to Talegaon in Pune on three motorcycles. They, and Balaji Bhandare, 35 (who was a few metres away at the time of the accident), stopped by the road around 11pm for a toilet break when a truck transporting flour bags was heading from Pune to Khopoli.
“The men had stopped to relieve themselves. The driver of the truck, while making a turn near Dasturi village, lost control of the vehicle and it fell on the bikes, crushing the five men,” said an officer from Khopoli police station.
The truck driver, Damodar Bosikar, 49, a resident of Panvel, fled the spot, but was later arrested.
Bhandare, who was a few metres away, rushed to find the five buried under flour sacks. Bhandare alerted the police and the highway traffic police reached the spot. Some local residents and a medical emergency team arrived to pull the men out. The victims worked at private companies in MIDC area, Talegaon.
“With the help of cranes, the sacks were removed and the truck was moved away from the road. The driver had run away and went to his employer, who brought him to the police station on Monday evening. We have arrested the driver,” said Dhanaji Kshirsagar, senior inspector at Khopoli police station.
The Khopoli police have registered a case of rash driving and causing death due to negligence against the driver.
