Weekend trip turns fatal: Bandra biker falls after landing in pothole, gets crushed to death
Hogale fell on her bike after hitting a pothole on the Jawhar-Dahanu highway (Jagruti Hogale, Picture Courtesy: ABP Majha)
A weekend getaway turned fatal for a 36-year-old rider from Bandra, who got run over by a truck after her bike landed in a pothole on the Jawhar-Dahanu highway on Sunday.
The incident took place when Jagruti Hogale, a member of the all-women ‘Bikerni’ motorcycle club, was on a trip with two other bikers to Jawhar in Palghar district yesterday.
During the ride, the the advertising professional tried to overtake a truck near Vaiti village on the Jawhar-Dahanu road around 9 am.
Unfortunately, her bike ended up landing in a pothole, throwing her off. Before she could get up, Hogale was crushed under the wheels of the truck, an official said, quoting an eyewitness.
Hogale, who was riding a 350cc Royal Enfield Thunderbird, was rushed to a hospital where she was declared dead before admission, Kasa police station’s assistant police inspector Jaiprakash Guthe said.
An accidental death report has been registered and the truck driver has been arrested.
He has been booked under the IPC sections 304-A (causing death by negligence), which carries a punishment of up to two years in jail, and 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way), which provides for up to 6 months in prison, Guthe said.
Police also recorded the statements of bikers Mrunal Nair and Dnyada Maskar, who were riding with Hogale. Both claimed that she was an expert rider and travelling at normal speed when the incident took place.
According to police sources, this is the fourth death this year caused by vehicles skidding on potholes on the Jawhar-Dahanu road.
Following the incident, Yuva Sena leader Aditya Thackeray claimed that the civic body is working on fixing the pothole problem. “There is action and we are working on it,” he told media without elaborating on what kind of steps were being taken.
Hogale, a resident of Kalanagar in Bandra East, is survived by her husband Viraj and nine-year-old son Harshit. She had earlier driven up to Khardung La in Ladakh, one of the highest motorable roads in the world.
Apart from riding, she was an active runner, trekker and associated with Morya Dhol Tasha Pathak.
