The passengers have alleged that on Wednesday morning, on the way to Vapi at about 100 km an hour, the driver slept off, and the car teetered out of control, toppling several times until it banged into a tree.
A driver associated with cab-hailing app service Uber has been booked after he allegedly slept off while ferrying four city-based professionals from Parel to Vapi in Gujarat, causing the car to crash near Virar on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway.
The passengers have alleged that on the morning of June 18, on the way to Vapi at about 100 km an hour, the driver slept off, and the car teetered out of control, toppling several times until it banged into a tree. All five occupants including the driver have sustained grievous injuries, cops said.
The passengers have also filed a complaint with Uber and are demanding that the service bear their medical expenses and compensate the business losses they sustained due to the accident.
Darshan Talajia, one of the passengers in the cab, said, "We had booked the cab early in the morning and were heading to Vapi for a shooting assignment. It was around 8 am when the accident took place near Virar. The driver had dozed off earlier as well when we were approaching Thane but he assured us that he was fine to drive after having some tea."
"My concern is, if not the medical expense, I should at least be reimbursed for the loss my business suffered due to the injuries I and my team suffered," Talajia said.
Uber claimed to have barred the driver from its platform. The company said in a statement, "We have extended support to police authorities. We have been in touch with the driver partner to give him details on claiming third-party insurance. We have also contacted rider and provided assistance to claim insurance through driver partner's third-party insurance."
An official from Virar police station said, "We have taken driver Niraj Ramchandran's statement, and booked him under IPC sections 279 (rash driving) and 337 (endangering life or personal safety of others) and 338, 427 and 184 of the Motor Vehicles Act for driving dangerously."
NOT ARRESTED YET
- A Virar police official said, “We have recorded the statement of one of the four passengers along with the statement of the driver, Niraj Ramchandran. The rest are to follow. No arrest has taken place yet, considering that the driver is recuperating from his injuries.”
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