Mumbai: An Uber driver rammed into a stationary mobile police van early on Saturday, near Jogeshwari. The female passenger in the backseat of the cab sustained injuries and was rushed to Trauma Care Hospital, while the driver was booked and arrested under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. Police suspect the driver was exhausted from working long hours and may have dozed off at the wheel because medical tests showed he was not driving under the influence of alcohol.
A Mira Road doctor, Rupa Nipani, had boarded an Uber cab from Kalina at 7am on Saturday. It was driven by Imran Mohiuddin Khan, 25. When the vehicle reached the Western Express Highway (WEH), it picked up speed as the roads were clear.
A police team attached to Jogeshwari police station was deployed at a nakabandi near the WEH, where barricades had been put up for checking. Around 7.30am, the app cab came speeding from the northbound lane of the WEH and knocked over the barricades, following which it rammed into a stationary mobile police van. “The car was coming at such speed that it knocked over the barricades. If the other policemen deployed at the checkpoint had not jumped away from their spots in time, there would have been multiple fatalities,” said Mahendra Nerlekar, senior inspector, Jogeshwari police station.
Police constable Rahul Jamdade, who was monitoring the wireless equipment installed in the mobile van, was thrown off the vehicle in the collision and fractured both hands. Dr Nipani, who was in the backseat of the speeding car, sustained a fracture on her left hand and had to be rushed to the Trauma Care Hospital for treatment. However, after preliminary tests, she was shifted to Wockhardt Hospital at Mira Road, where she underwent surgery, said police.
Jogeshwari Police booked Khan under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for rash driving (section 279), causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others (section 338) and sections of the Motor Vehicles Act. He was arrested immediately and taken for medical tests, which specified that Khan was not driving the vehicle under the influence of alcohol.
“It is suspected that because Khan had been working long hours, he might have dozed off at the wheel. Investigation is underway,” added Nerlekar.
