MUMBAI: Kopri police have alleged that the ambulance driver,
Shakur Baugh, was dozing and lost control of the vehicle while ferrying a pregnant woman and her family members from
Malegaon to the city.
The accident took place on the Eastern Express Highway early on Sunday. “We suspect that as the driver must not have slept all night and fell asleep while driving. We have registered a case against Shakur for rash driving, endangering a person’s life and under the Motor Vehicles Act,” said a police officer.
Shakur, who suffered a fracture of the forearm, denied that he fell asleep while driving.
The distraught family from Naya Islampura in Malegaon said they took eight months pregnant
Tankila Ahmed (40) to
Malegaon Civil Hospital after she developed breathing difficulty on Thursday. There, the doctors advised them to bring her to JJ Hospital, a distance of 270km from their hometown.
On Sunday, around 12.45am, Tankila, her husband Mustaq (45), her mother Khalda Rashid (60), brother
Aqeel Rashid (30) and nephew Mohammed Shadad (18) set out for Mumbai. “Tankila was diagnosed with a he art condition a few months ago through an angiography. Given her age and the heart condition, the doctors suggested that we should go to a superspeciality hospital for the delivery,” said Khalda, who sustained minor head injuries.
Officials of the Thane Regional Disaster Management Cell claimed that though the driver’s side of the ambulance was severely dented, he was not stuck inside. Motorists rushed to the family’s rescue and summoned another ambulance, which took them to
Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar. Medical superintendent Dr Vidya Thakur said the doctors couldn’t hear the fetal heartbeat. “The woman was unconscious and gasping for breath. Since she would have needed multi-specialties, we referred her to Sion hospital,” she said.
An on-duty doctor at Sion hospital said
Tankila was put on ventilator. “The baby couldn’t be saved. The mother’s condition is critical too. We are closely monitoring her,” the doctor said. “We can take a decision on what to do with the foetus only if her condition improves.”
Professor of gynaecology Dr Arun Naik said the dead foetus can stay in the womb till it does not create complications. “In such cases usually, blood tests are carried out to see if the dead foetus is causing any toxicity. Only then a labour may be induced but since the patient is already on ventilator, it could cause additional stress. As it is, once the foetus dies, the hormonal changes begin in the body, which itself can send her into spontaneous labour,” said the doctor, adding that they may have two to three days before the hormonal changes start.