Two accidents on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link late on Sunday night left one person dead and six, including a traffic policeman, injured.
According to the Worli police, the first accident occurred at the Worli end of the sea link around 11 pm. A Tata Sumo, carrying six people, collided with a Hyundai i20. One of the six people in the Sumo, identified as Ankit Phondake (28), was declared brought dead at the hospital.
The others, Vilas Navale (23), Nikhil Dhotre (22), Bhaven Patel (23), Ankit Pednekar (24) and Sandeep Nagvekar (24), were rushed to KEM hospital in Parel, where everyone except Dhotre was discharged after treatment.
“We were travelling from Vile Parle toward south Mumbai. The accident occurred between 11 pm and 11:30 pm. I am unable to recollect much about the accident as I blacked out,” said Dhotre, who lives near the New Airport Colony in Vile Parle (East).
Among the first to reach the scene of the accident was police constable Sanjay More, attached with the Bandra division of the Mumbai Traffic Police, who ended up becoming the victim of the second accident.
“The Sumo had swerved wildly after the collision and had come to a halt facing the Bandra end of the Sea Link,” said Mr More, who fractured his left hand and is recuperating at Bombay Hospital. Speaking of the second accident he said, “While I was directing traffic at the spot, a white Mitsubishi Lancer came speeding towards the Worli end, and its side mirror hit my left hand.”
“Had I been hit by the car itself there was no way I would have survived. After hitting me, it swerved slightly to the right and narrowly missed hitting 10 policemen. The Lancer sped away, but was stopped at the end of the sea link by our colleagues,” Mr More said.
The Worli police subsequently took Nagvekar, who was driving the Sumo, and the driver of the Lancer, identified as Dhiraj Sansare (22), into custody. The police registered separate cases against both of them and placed them under arrest.
“Nagvekar has been booked for causing death due to rash and negligent driving, while Sansare has been booked for causing injury due to rash and negligent driving. Both the cases have been registered under the Indian Penal Code and the Motor Vehicles Act,” said senior police inspector Vinay Kulkarni, Worli police station.
