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BEST bus collides with cab on old Vashi bridge; 2 dead
A nine-year-old girl and a taxi driver were killed while six others injured after a BEST bus collided head-on with their cab on the old Vashi creek bridge on Tuesday morning.
A nine-year-old girl and a taxi driver were killed while six others injured after a BEST bus collided head-on with their cab on the old Vashi creek bridge on Tuesday morning.
Police said the bus was not allowed on the dilapidated one-way bridge and its driver was speeding on the wrong side. The incident took place around 5.15am.
The taxi, carrying seven members of a family, was on its way to Turbhe from Kurla Terminus, while the bus (route number 521) was headed to Tardeo from Kopar Khairane.
According to the police, the bus was packed with passengers on their way to the Siddhivinayak temple.
“To avoid the heavy truck traffic on the new bridge leading to the Mankhurd octroi, bus driver Vishnu Shridhar Jadhav, 40, took the old bridge,” said Rajesh Devre, inspector, Vashi police station.
Jadhav jumped several lanes after crossing the toll naka, cutting through the incoming traffic from Mumbai, the police said, adding that the decrepit bridge was meant only for light vehicles.
“The speeding bus had covered a little distance when it collided with the taxi,” said Devre.
The taxi driver, Krishna Kumar, 30, and a child, Manisha Gupta, were killed on the spot.
The injured — Satyam Gupta, 12, Manju Gupta, 38, Vikas Jaiswal, 25, Shailesh Gupta, 40, Satya Gupta, 10, and Brijmohan Gupta, 42 — were taken to a civic hospital in Vashi.
Satyam, whose condition is critical, was admitted to Sion hospital.
The police have arrested Jadhav for rash and negligent driving causing death.
According to Maya More, police inspector, traffic, they were facing problems with speeding BEST buses.
“The bus driver broke traffic rules and risked many lives.”
Incidentally, this is the second fatal accident on the bridge within three days. Two brothers on a bike were killed after being run over by a Scorpio on Saturday.
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