Two Marathi actors, child killed on Pune Expressway

In one of the worst accidents on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, two Marathi actors, Anand Abhyankar and Akshay Pendse, and Pendse’s two-year-old son were killed on the spot in the early hours of Monday after a tempo crashed into their car, reports Yogesh Joshi.

In one of the worst accidents on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, two Marathi actors, Anand Abhyankar and Akshay Pendse, and Pendse’s two-year-old son were killed on the spot in the early hours of Monday after a tempo crashed into their car.

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The driver, Srimant Mele, who ran away, was arrested from his house, said S More, police inspector, Wadgaon police station.

Pendse, 35, his son Pratyush and wife Dipti were returning to Mumbai in Abhyankar’s car after a film shoot. While Dipti escaped with minor injuries, Abhyankar’s driver Suresh Patil, who was with them, was unhurt.

Abhyankar, 48, a senior actor in Marathi cinema, has starred in films, serials and plays, including Spandan, Vastav and Balgandharva. An emerging actor, Pendse played the role of Abhyankar’s son in the ongoing serial, Mala Sasu Havi.

The driver of the Pune-bound tempo lost control and the vehicle crashed at high speed through the road divider and collided head-on with the actor’s WagonR on the other side of the road, the police said.

The police said initially Abhyankar’s driver was driving the car, but the actor got behind the wheels after a while.

“Around 11pm, sir told me he would drive. After some time, the tempo came crashing into the road and smashed into our car,” said Patil.