SUV kills 4 of family, injures 6 others on Sakkardara flyover
   Date :11-Sep-2022

SUV kills 4 of family
 
Special Correspondent :
 
A family of four was tossed off the flyover after the speeding SUV hit three motorcycles 
 
IN A horrific mishap, four members of a family, including two children, were killed and six others injured, four of them seriously, after being hit by a speeding Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) on Sakkardara flyover Friday night. The impact of the crash was so intense that the four of a family, who were on a motorcycle, got tossed into the air and fell on the road beneath the flyover from a height of at least 60-70 feet near Sakkardara Square.
 
They were killed instantaneously. The same car also hit two more motorcycles at the same spot injuring six persons. Four of them, including a four-year-old boy, sustained serious injuries and were rushed to a hospital. Identified as Vinod Punaji Khapekar (45), his mother Laxmibai (65) and sons Vedant (11) and Vivan (5), the deceased were the residents of Timki, near primary school, Tehsil. Injured Mohammad Danish Mohammad Munir Ansari (20), a resident of Raut Nagar, Dighori; Mohammad Iliyas Barkarulla Ansari (35), Kamroon Nisar Iliyas Ansari (30), both residents of Ansar Nagar, Mominpura; Aayan Irfan Ansari (4), a resident of Plot No 265, Bhilgaon, Yashodhara Nagar; were rushed to Government Medical College & Hospital (GMC&H) by passersby. The victims, who were on three motorcycles -- Honda Splendor (MH-40/AA-8130), Hero Splendor (MH-49/AM-/3805) and Royal Enfield ‘Bullet’ (MH-49/BP-0683) -- were heading towards Reshimbag direction around 10.10 pm. Suddenly, a Mahindra TUV300 SUV (MH-49/AS-4949) coming from the opposite direction at a high speed rammed into the three motorbikes and smashed them between the car and the safety wall of the flyover.
 
The impact of the crash was so intense that Vinod Khapekar, his mother and two sons flung about 15 ft into the air and fell on the road beneath the flyover from a height of about 60-70 ft. Four others, who were on two other motorcycles were sandwiched between the safety wall and the SUV, and suffered grievous injuries. Passers-by panicked after they heard a loud noise and victims falling on the road from the flyover. The ghastly mishap led to traffic chaos on the flyover and also near Sakkardara Square. Some of the eye-witnesses started yelling. The SUV driver escaped leaving his car on the spot fearing public wrath. Staff from Sakkardara Police Station arrived and ensured that the bodies of the four victims were quickly shifted to the mortuary at GMC&H and the vehicular traffic was cleared.
 
One of the eye-witnesses told ‘The Hitavada’ that the SUV careered out of control before hitting the three motorcycles coming from the opposite direction. Vinod Khapekar, his mother and two children were returning home after Ganesh Visarjan when the tragedy occurred, he added. When contacted, a senior officer informed that SUV driver Ganesh Arun Kadwe (33), a resident of Plot No 272, near Shubh Shyam Celebration, Butibori, surrendered before the police. “Sakkardara Police registered a case under Sections 304(ii), 279, 308 of the Indian Penal Code, read with Sections 134, 177 of the Motor Vehicle Act, against him and started further investigations,” he added.