Beed: 2 Critical In Midnight Pile-Up On Kaij-Kallamb Road

Beed: Two cars and a tractor carrying sugarcane-cutting labourers were wrecked in a midnight collision near Salegaon on the Kaij-Kallamb road in Kaij taluka. Two youths were critically injured, while nine sugarcane cutters escaped unhurt, police said on Thursday.

The injured have been identified as Ashok Vitthal Shinde (21), a resident of Kalamb, and tractor driver Abhishek Rajendra Shelke (20), a native of Pahadi Hivra in Beed taluka. Both are undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU) of Swami Ramanand Teerth Rural Government Medical College and Hospital in Ambajogai.

According to police, the accident occurred around 11.30pm on Tuesday when a tractor carrying nine migrant sugarcane cutters from Pahadi Hivra was travelling towards Shri Datta Sugar Factory in western Maharashtra for the crushing season.

Near Salegaon, a speeding black Ford car (MH-25-AS-2333) allegedly attempted to overtake the tractor. The driver lost control and collided with the front of the tractor, sending the car across the road.

Within seconds, a white car (MH-44-Z-5684), travelling from Kalamb towards Kaij, rammed into the wrecked car and the tractor, triggering a pile-up. All three vehicles sustained extensive damage.

After receiving information about the accident, a Kaij police team led by Assistant Police Sub-Inspector PT Chavan rushed to the spot with an ambulance under the direction of Police Inspector Rahul Suryatal.

The injured were initially taken to Kaij Sub-District Hospital for emergency treatment before being shifted to SRTR Government Medical College and Hospital in Ambajogai.

With the help of local residents, police used cranes to clear the wreckage and restore traffic on the highway.

Suryatal said both injured youths were receiving intensive medical care. The process of recording statements and registering a case was underway.