Truck flips over on JVLR bridge, one killed

One person died after a dumper truck loaded with mud overturned at the Jogeshwari Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR) bridge on the Western Express Highway. The incident occurred around 9am in Jogeshwari on the highway, when the truck that was heading towards Borivali lost balance, smashed the divider and overturned in the right lane.

The truck overturned on to a pedestrian, who was walking along the divider, and three oncoming cars on other side of the road.

The pedestrian identified as Ashok Shivvarai Singh (45), a resident of Jogeshwari east, died on the spot with severe head injuries.

While the cars, two Maruti Swifts and a Hyundai I10 were damaged due to the impact, the drivers in the car survived with minor injuries. “Of the three people who were in the cars, two sustained minor injuries and have been discharged,” said M Wavle, a police inspector attached with the Jogeshwari station.

The cause of accident is still unclear but eyewitnesses claim that the truck’s wheels came off midway causing it to overturn. The driver of the truck, Pintu Yadav, who was also injured in the accident, managed to flee the spot. “We have got to know that he is undergoing treatment in a hospital in Borivli. We will know what happened only after interrogating him,” added Wavle.

Traffic on the highway was disrupted for about an hour following the accident. “We had the fire brigades at the spot for a few hours to move the overturned vehicle. The mud from the vehicles had spilled on to the road and we had to divert traffic for a few hours because of this,” said an officer from the Jogeshwari station.

An accidental death case has been registered by the Jogeshwari police and the driver will be booked under IPC 279, 337, 338 (endangering life), 304 (causing death by negligence) and under section 134 of Motor Vehicle act.