Law student run over at Marine Drive

Talking on her mobile phone while crossing the road cost 23-year-old Nivedita Nathany her life.

Talking on her mobile phone while crossing the road cost 23-year-old Nivedita Nathany her life.

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The law student was knocked down by a speeding car on Marine Drive, near Matruchaya building near the Bank of Baroda building, after she jumped down the divider into the path of a speeding Skoda car, around 10pm on Thursday.

In its three-part series, Make Your Roads Safer, published this week, HT had looked at various issues that make roads unsafe. One of the suggestions made by experts was that people should avoid talking on the cellphone while driving or crossing roads.

The driver, 19-year-old Manav Shah, was a resident of Malabar Hill, the police said.

Nivedita, who hails from Kolkata, was a student at the Government Law College and was staying as a paying guest at Bharatiya Bhawan on NS Road, Churchgate. She was returning home after spending time at the promenade when she met with the accident.

“She was flung in the air and she landed on the windshield of the car,” said Rajendra Patil, police inspector from Marine Drive police station.

The divider on NS Road, Marine Drive, is fairly high to discourage people from randomly crossing, and pedestrians are supposed to cross only at designated spots. But Nivedita did not cross at a designated spot, instead choosing to climb on the divider, the police said.

Nivedita was rushed to Bombay hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival.

The police were informed around 11 pm, after which they arrested Shah. “The boy has a driving licence and his medical test shows he had not consumed alcohol,” a police official said.

The police have registered a case against Shah for rash driving) and death due to negligence. He was produced in court on Friday and released on bail.

Nivedita’s father, a businessman in Kolkata, arrived in Mumbai and was handed over the body. He has returned to Kolkata to conduct the final rites.