20-year-old woman dies in Mumbai after truck runs her over on Western Express Highway

The truck involved in the hit-and-run drove away from the scene.

A 20-year-old girl riding pillion on a scooter died in a hit-and-run after her head came under the rear wheel of a speeding truck on the Western Express Highway in Goregaon (East) on Monday afternoon. The accused truck driver has been arrested.

The woman was run over by the truck (HT Photo)

According to the Vanrai police, the accident took place at around 1.30pm on the south-bound stretch of the highway near the Reliance Energy building.

The deceased, Ruchika Ramesh Jain, 20, was a college student and a resident of Borivali. She and her cousin Avinash Jain, 22, were travelling on a scooter towards Jogeshwari to meet her uncle when the accident occurred.

A gas-cylinder truck rashly changing lanes collided with their scooter due to which Ruchika lost her balance and fell off the two-wheeler. Her head came under the rear wheel of the truck as a result.

Ruchika was rushed to a trauma care hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival. The accused driver of the truck speeded away in the vehicle but was nabbed by Vanrai police later that night.

“We arrested him and will be producing him before a magistrate court on Tuesday. He has been booked for rash and negligent driving, causing death and for escaping from the spot without rendering help to the victim or informing police,” said senior police inspector Jyotsna Rasam.