Four members of a family were killed when the car they were travelling in rammed into a tanker on the Mumbai-Pune expressway on Friday morning.
Teen among victims
The deceased have been identified as Akshay Kokre, who was driving the Swift DZire, his aunt Savita Mote, another relative Rani Kharje, and Kharje’s teenage daughter Riya. The fifth passenger, a woman, suffered leg injuries and was rushed to Mahatma Gandhi Mission Hospital in Navi Mumbai, said police authorities.
Officials said the accident occurred at 4.30 a.m. near Khalapur toll plaza after Kokre apparently lost control of the vehicle (MH 11 CH 1889) and rammed it into a stationary HP gas tanker.
The family was travelling from Sangli district to Mumbai. This is the second major accident to take place on the expressway in less than a month. On November 4, five people were killed and 30 others were injured after a private passenger bus turned turtle and fell into a valley near Khandala.
In 2016, the former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Shiv Sena government deployed drones for the first time to curb rampant lane cutting and speeding after taking note of the rise in frequency of accidents and casualties on the expressway.
Early morning mishaps
Last year, a study by road safety research firm, JP Research India (JPRI), showed that 38% of accidents on the expressway were owing to vehicles exceeding the 80 kmph speed limit.
The study, which was based on an analysis of 110 accidents, found that 56% of accidents occurred between midnight and 9 a.m.
