Mumbai: Biker knocks down woman, leaves her bleeding on road

A 59-year-old woman was knocked down by a speeding biker while crossing the road at one of Bandra’s busiest junctions at 7.15 pm on Monday.

A 59-year-old woman was knocked down by a speeding biker while crossing the road at one of Bandra’s busiest junctions at 7.15 pm on Monday. The biker sped away, leaving Hilda Machado injured and bleeding on the road outside Lucky Hotel. Predictably, no one came forward to help Machaco - not even a policeman who was directing traffic at the junction a few feet away.

Eventually, 20-year-old college student Asha Thakkar stopped her scooter and came to her aid. She said Machado was “bleeding profusely”.

Bandra resident Machado, who works at a security firm, was returning home from work, a relative told HT. “The signal was red when the woman started to cross the road. But before she could get to the other side, the light turned green and the speeding biker hit her. She fell down close to the divider and the biker sped away,” said Thakkar.

Pedestrians and passing motorists ignored Machado, while the traffic police constable at the junction neither stopped the biker nor came to her rescue. It was left to Thakkar and two other women to take Machado to nearby Bhabha Hospital, from where her family shifted her to Holy Family Hospital at Hill Road.

HT contacted the Bandra police, but officials said they were unaware of the accident. “We have not received any complaint from the victim. If we do, we will initiate an investigation,” said Ramchandra Dhawale, senior inspector at Bandra police station.

The accident was reminiscent of the Goregaon hit-and-run on May 13, in which 22-year-old Archana Pandya, who worked at Tata Consultancy Services, was hit by a speeding car and died after scores of pedestrians and motorists ignored her cries for help.