The cab driver who fatally rammed into former Intel India country head Avtar Singh Saini in Navi Mumbai has reportedly told the police that he dozed off and lost control of the vehicle. The driver, Rishikesh Khade (23), said he dozed off because he was driving all night, reported PTI quoting an unnamed official.
Avtar Singh Saini, best known for his leadership role in the design and development of Intel's Pentium processor, died in the early hours of Wednesday after a taxi rammed into his bicycle on Palm Beach Road.
"During his interrogation, Khade told the police that he dozed off as he was driving all night, due to which he lost control over the cab that knocked down Saini's bicycle," an official of NRI police station said.
The driver reportedly tried to escape from the scene with the bicycle's frame wedged under the front wheels of the taxi.
He was apprehended by passersby and handed over to the police.
A resident of suburban Chembur in Mumbai, Saini was credited with working on the Intel 386 and 486 microprocessors. He then went on to lead the design of the company's Pentium processor.
{{/usCountry}}A resident of suburban Chembur in Mumbai, Saini was credited with working on the Intel 386 and 486 microprocessors. He then went on to lead the design of the company's Pentium processor.
{{/usCountry}}Saini always wore safety gear when he trekked or cycled, according to other cyclists of the Chembur Amateur Cycling Group he was part of.
Driver not arrested
A case was registered against the driver under various Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections, including 279, 337, and 304-A and provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act. Despite having been booked for rash driving, causing hurt by doing an act rashly or negligently endangering human life, and causing death by rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide, Khade has not been arrested.
"But the accused has not been arrested so far as the maximum imprisonment for sections applied against him is below seven years," PTI quoted a police official as saying.