A grizzly accident that took place during the wee hours of July 27, 2015, has left two men dead, and one fighting for his life. The accident happened in Dahisar East (a suburb of Mumbai) on the Western Express Highway’s south-bound stretch.
A Tata Indica shown for representation purpose only
The deceased have been identified as Nitin Kambli and Sharad Narvekar. It is learned that Kambli was the one driving the Indica hatchback, while Narvekar was seated beside him. The third person, identified as Shankar Sawant was seated at the back. The trio were on their way to Prabhadevi, which also happens to be the place of residence for one of the men. All three men are drivers by profession, and Kambli had borrowed the car from one of his acquaintances, Datta Damute, who runs a tourist car business.
According to police reports, Kambli took the keys of the car from Damute at around 4 pm on Sunday (July 26). However, Kambli didn’t explain to the latter as to why he needed the car. The catastrophic accident happened at around 2 am, near Sanjay Gandhi National Park the very next day. It is believed that Kambli was speeding and lost control of the Tata Indica, and it slammed against the wall of the flyover, right at its entrance. The car then went on for several metres, sliding against the wall.
One of the police officials at the scene stated that the car soon lost its balance and fell sideways. The impact against the wall was powerful enough to rip open the doors of the Indica, and one of the occupants was thrown out of the car, and landed on the opposite side of the flyover. The police official said, “By the time we were informed and reached the location, Kambli and Narvekar had already died. Their skulls had cracked.” As for the hatchback, it was almost left unidentifiable by the high speed collision.
It is reported that, at the time of the accident, there were several auto-rickshaw drivers standing nearby, possibly for hire. Many of them gathered at the crash site, but none offered to lend a helping hand to the victims. A little while later, a good samaritan arrived at the spot. He took the critically injured Sawant to Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital in an auto-rickshaw. Kambli’s uncle said that, “Sawant has been moved to the Hinduja Hospital at Mahim where he is battling for his life.”
The police officials are investigating the accident and will be dwelling deeper into the matter. They will analyse if the trio (especially the Kambli) were inebriated at the time of the accident. It is possible that none of the three were wearing their seatbelts, thus resulting in a far more devastating outcome. Always wear your seatbelt, regardless of where you are seated in the vehicle. Also, never drink and drive!
via TOI
That is a valid point, Satya. Unfortunately, even if the car these men were driving in, had all those safety nets, the outcome wouldn’t have changed drastically. Our guess is, they weren’t wearing their seatbelts, which would have hampered the effectiveness of the above-mentioned safety tech. One should always wear his/her seatbelt.
Why is the government allowing the car manufacturers to sell cars that don’t even have basic safety features like disc brakes on all four wheel and abs with at least 2 front airbags.