A 31-year-old driver died, and another auto rickshaw driver suffered serious injuries after being hit from behind by a pickup vehicle in Thane. The police said that the deceased has been identified as Jitendra Mohan Kamble, 31, a rickshaw driver and resident of the Nehru Nagar area in Vartak Nagar, Thane. The injured driver has been identified as Ganesh Vishwanath Waghmare, 29, a rickshaw driver and resident of Thane. The pickup driver is a 15-year-old boy who was driving the vehicle.
The incident took place on Ghodbunder Road in Thane at 2:35 AM on Monday when the pickup, driven by the minor, was heading towards Mumbai from Ghodbunder Road. The accident occurred when the driver of the pickup lost control of the vehicle and crashed into two parked auto rickshaws. Later, the pickup fell into a hole that had been dug by the concerned authorities for metro work.
Passersby and bystanders rushed to the spot and found two auto rickshaws crashed and the pickup fallen into a hole. They alerted the local police. The rickshaw drivers were taken to Civil Hospital in Thane, where Kamble was declared dead on arrival, while Waghmare is being treated at the hospital.
Yasin Tadvi, the chief of the Regional Disaster Management Cell of Thane Municipal Corporation, said, "We received information about the incident. We rushed to the spot along with equipment. The traffic police, with the help of a towing van, removed the pickup from the hole. The area around the hole has been cordoned off with red plastic tape."
DCP Pankaj Shirsat from Thane Traffic Police said, "The minor was driving the pickup and caused the accident. We have booked a case against the minor and his father. The father has been identified as Manoj Niranjan Biswal, the owner of the pickup vehicle. We arrested Manoj and served a notice to his son. Further investigation is ongoing."
