Mumbai: The Andheri police are yet to trace the driver of a speeding vehicle in a hit-and-run case that occurred on Sunday, in which a 52-year-old woman was fatally knocked down. The accident took place around 7.30 pm on October 8, as Bhagyashri Daripkar was crossing the Western Express Highway (WEH), in front of Saiprasad Hotel, Gundavli, Andheri east.
She was struck by the vehicle speeding down the WEH and her legs were trapped by the tyres of the car, causing her to fall and sustain severe injuries to her legs, head and ears. The driver had stopped the vehicle and with the help of the public, rushed the profusely bleeding woman to the BMC’s Trauma Care Hospital, also located on the WEH, Jogeshwari. But soon thereafter, he vanished from the hospital.
Eyewitness Identifies Victim, Calls Relatives
An eyewitness sitting in the hotel, had rushed out on hearing the commotion. He identified the victim as the aunt of his friend Swapnil Yadav and contacted him. Swapnil rushed to the trauma care centre only to be told that no bed was available. He then shifted her to Nanavati Hospital, Vile Parle, but by then Bhagyashri had suffered heavy blood loss and was declared dead around 9.50pm.
Police claim that there was no CCTV camera at the accident spot though the WEH does have several cameras in the vicinity and they could have tracked down the vehicle. Strangely, the CCTV cameras at the trauma centre too did not grab a clear picture of the car, which had entered the driveway, the police claimed.
When contacted by the FPJ, Swapnil and another member of the family declined to talk because they were in a ‘state of shock’. It was only on Monday that police registered an FIR against an unidentified individual for rash driving and other offences.
