Woman crushed under bus in second mishap on Mumbai’s eastern express highway in a day

The deceased was in her fifties, and was riding pillion on a motor cycle with her husband.

A woman riding pillion on a motorcycle was killed in an apparent hit-and-run near the Sion flyover on the Eastern Express highway on Monday evening. It was the second such incident on the highway in 24 hours. Early on Monday morning, a 25-year-old riding pillion on a motorcycle died after being thrown off a flyover and falling 25 feet following a car pile-up at Ghatkopar.

This was the second hit-and-run case reported on the eastern express highway on Monday. (HT File)

The victim in the second accident, 47-year-old Prachi Prabhu, was riding pillion on a motorcycle with her husband Hemant on the south-bound stretch of the highway when the accident occurred near the Sion flyover around 8pm. Hemant escaped with minor injuries.

An officer at Chunabhatti police station said, “The couple is from Chembur and had gone for a motorcycle ride at night. According to the husband, a speeding bus rammed into their motorcycle from behind. He said both of them fell off the motorcycle and his wife’s head was crushed under the front wheels of the bus.” Hemant told the police the bus driver did not stop to help them.

The officer added, “Hemant took help from passers-by to take Prachi to Sion hospital, where she was declared dead.” The police said they were checking whether there were any eyewitnesses. “We are investigating whether the bus had any passengers and if so, why they seemingly didn’t react to the incident.” The police are also checking CCTV cameras in the area for leads on the absconding driver.

Unlike the Western Express Highway (WEH), which is flanked by many residential and commercial zones, there are fewer such areas on the eastern highway, which passes through large swathes of mangroves and salt pans in Mulund. It falls under the Coastal Regulation Zone as a protected area, which restricts construction. For this and other reasons, it is sees more dangerous driving than its western counterpart.