One dead, one injured in road accident near Mumbai suburb

Mumbai police suspect that the container driver fell asleep at the wheel, rammed into a four wheeler after finally colliding with a stationary truck loaded with iron rolls.

A 40-year-old container driver died after he rammed his vehicle into a stationary truck while injuring the driver of a four wheeler at Thane on Wednesday morning.

HT Photo

The container driver, Choturam Shabluram Balai, 40, is a resident of Rajasthan. The police are yet to ascertain the identity of the man driving the other vehicle.

According to the police, Balai was driving the container towards Thane from Borivli when he lost control over the vehicle and rammed it into a stationary truck before hitting a four wheeler near Vedant hospital at Kasarwadavli in Thane.

D Dhole, senior police inspector from Kasarwadavli police station, said, “We suspect that Balai might have fallen asleep while driving. We are probing what led to the accident and in the process of registering a case. Balai initially hit a four wheeler which was thrown off the road, and after that he hit a stationary truck which was loaded with iron rolls. He was speeding.”

The impact of the accident was such that Balai’s body got stuck in the container’s cabin. “It was impossible to remove his body. We finally called a fire brigade and a crane to help us to take it out. The stationary truck was pulled ahead and the injured was sent to hospital immediately. Later, the cabin was cut and Balai’s body was taken out and sent to Thane civil hospital. We are tracing his family members who will be alerted about the accident”, added Dhole.