Pune-Satara highway: Birthday boy among three friends killed in accident, 4 hurt

The deceased have been identified as Sushil Kamble (24), Suraj Shinde (23) and Aniket Ranadive (23), while the injured persons are Suresh Kurhade, Chetan Lokhande, Amar Kamble, Karan Jadhav, all aged between 22 and 24, said police. The eighth person, Bapu Shelar, escaped with minor injuries.

The Rajgad police said the group celebrated birthday of Sushil Kamble on Taljai Hill, not far from Taljai Vasahat, where they lived. After cutting the birthday cake, they decided to visit a dargah at Khed Shivapur. They started from Taljai around 12.30 am. Six of them were riding triple seat on two motorcycles and two more were on the third bike, said police. When they were at Shindewadi around 1.40 am, a truck carrying gas cylinder hit all the three bikes from behind. “Due to the impact, all eight fell down on the road,” said a police officer.

Sushil Kamble sustained severe injuries on his head and is believed to have died on the spot. One of them Bapu Shelar, who was in shock but conscious, then pulled two friends off the road from the path of other speeding vehicles. Soon, a police patrol vehicle for the highway, which was nearby, reached the spot. Ambulances were called and all the injured were taken to a hospital, where two more were declared dead. “We have come to know that none of the persons were wearing a helmet. All the deceased and two of the injured have head injuries. We have also come to know that some of them were online on messenger apps while on the move. The last update of one of them is from just a couple of minutes before the accident.”

Assistant Inspector Dattatrey Darade, in-charge of Rajgad police station, said, “Based on the primary information, we have detained the truck driver and launched a search for the truck.”

The accident happened just three days after nine youths, all aged between 19 and 22, were killed in a major road mishap at Loni Kalbhor on the Pune-Solapur highway when the car they were travelling in jumped off the road divider and rammed into a truck coming from the opposite direction, in the early hours of Saturday.