5 dead, 3 injured as Tavera rams into trailer on Mumbai-Pune expressway
Picture Courtesy: Mustafa Syed
In a tragic incident, five persons were killed and three others injured after their SUV rammed into a trailer on the Mumbai-Pune expressway during the early Tuesday morning.
The incident took place around 5:30 am am near Bhatan tunnel at Rasayani.
According to the police, eight passengers were travelling in the Tavera, of whom five were family members. The occupants had gone to Ratnagiri to attend a funeral and were on their way back to Mumbai.
The deceased include three members of the family, Gangaram Ravan (65), his son Sandeep (35) and nephew Sanjay Ravan (40). The other two who were killed in the accident were Jairam Ambekar (50) and the driver Milind Pawar (45).
Reportedly, all five were sole breadwinners of their respective families.
Following the incident, Assistant inspector Arun Awhad of the Palaspe traffic unit told a leading daily “The Tavera driver probably dozed off as he might have been driving continuously for seven hours from Ratnagiri. He might not have been able to judge how far he pressed the accelerator and crashed into the six-wheel trailer ahead.”
“The impact badly mangled the Tavera, due to which the driver had to be extricated by cutting apart the car’s chassis. Others were rushed to MGM Hospital in Kamothe where five succumbed to their injuries,” he added.
Suresh Ravan (45) was given first aid and discharged from the hospital immediately, but Sunil Ravan (35) and Santosh (46) had to be admitted.
A teenager, Chetna Dodhia (19), was also killed in a mishap on the expressway on Tuesday evening. Dodhia, along with six others, was returning to Mumbai when their driver lost control of the vehicle near Kashedi ghat, causing the vehicle to fall in a gorge.
The Mumbai-Pune expressway is among the deadliest roads in the country, witnessing hundreds of fatalities every year.
