Dead of night collision on highway claims seven lives

PUNE: Seven pilgrims from the district were killed when a speeding truck knocked down the sports utility vehicle (SUV) in which they were travelling. The accident occurred close to Dhangarwadi on AhmednagarAurangabad highway at 2am on Wednesday.
Mubarak Tamboli (56), Balu Chavan (50), his son Swapnil Chavan (17), Gokul Gaikwad (40), and Arun Shinde (50), from Yavat, and Manohar Gaikwad (45), Ankush Nemane (45), from Malshiras in Purandar taluka, were on their way to Buldana district to offer prayers at a dargah located in Pimpalgaon Sarai village when the mishap took place.
“The impact of the collision was such that all seven travellers were killed on the spot,“ said an officer from the MIDC police station, Ahmednagar.
The officer added that the truck driver fled from the spot after the accident.
“We have launched a man hunt for the accused,“ he said.
According to the officer, the accident happened around 2am at Dhangarwadi junction, located about 12km from Ahmednagar city.
“Prima facie, the probe revealed that the SUV, while on its way to Buldana from Yavat in Pune district, had halted at the Dhangarwadi junction. The truck, which was travelling towards Ahmednagar from Aurangabad at a high speed, knocked down the SUV ,“ he said.
The officer explained that there is a slight turn on the road at Dhangarwadi junction. “We suspect that the SUV's driver had stopped at the junction because he wanted to cross the road. The truck was travelling at such speed that the driver did not notice the SUV and rammed into it.“
The impact of the accident was such that the truck dragged the SUV for a few meters before coming to a halt. All occupants of the SUV were killed. “We had to cut the mangled SUV to remove the bodies,“ the officer stated.
Yavat police said that the occupants in the SUV were street vendors from Yavat. “Some of them sold fruits, while others ran small eateries along the road,“ said an officer from the Yavat police.