Crash claims 13-yr-old on b’day

Just hours earlier, Darshan Kokare had turned 13. But before he could plan a celebration, the Tata Sumo in which he was travelling collided with a truck at Nagothane on the Mumbai-Goa highway early on Friday morning.

Just hours earlier, Darshan Kokare had turned 13. But before he could plan a celebration, the Tata Sumo in which he was travelling collided with a truck at Nagothane on the Mumbai-Goa highway early on Friday morning. Darshan, along with 11 others, died in the crash.

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So great was the impact that 11 of the Sumo’s 16 passengers died on the spot. One passed away while being rushed to hospital.

Darshan and his family were headed for Khed in Ratnagiri district to attend a relative’s wedding.

Just the previous day, Darshan and his mother Veena had gone around their neighbourhood, distributing sweets and flowers to mark his birthday. Now, neighbours said, all that’s left of the Kokare family are memories of their stay at Sainath Nagar in Ghatkopar (West).

Neighbours remember Darshan as a lovable, playful child. “He was so cute that just a glimpse of him would bring a smile to your face. He treated us to sweets in advance because he was not going to be in Mumbai for his birthday,” said Mahendra Shinde, the Kokares’ neighbour.

Darshan was travelling with his father Ravindra (40), mother Veena (35) and younger sister Raveena (10). Raveena is the only family member to have survived the tragedy. Having suffered severe head injuries and fractures, she is on a ventilator and is battling for life at Sion Hospital.

Neighbours said that while other children in the locality attended municipal schools, Darshan and Raveena studied in an English-medium school. “Both were very bright and good in studies. They were very friendly with the other children,” said a neighbour.

Shinde last met the Kokares on Thursday evening. “They had informed everybody in the locality that they were going for the wedding. Fearing that thieves could strike while they were away, Ravindra left with me some gold jewellery and

Rs 17,000 for safe keeping,” said Shinde. Around 8 am, he said, he got a call from the police informing him about the accident.

While Ravindra was a rickshaw driver, Veena worked for a private firm in Powai.