Accident on Mumbai-Pune expressway claims 1 life

A Mumbai-based businessman, Raju Vinod Shaha, was killed in a bizarre accident involving four vehicles on Monday afternoon on the Pune-Mumbai expressway at Somatne Phata, about 40 km from Pune.

According to the police, a Honda City car (MH-01 AS 5590) driven by Rakesh Mateshwar Pande and carrying a passenger, Shilpa Chirag Bakshi, a senior official with a private bank, was going to Mumbai from Pune, when it was hit from the rear by a truck near Somatne Phata.

Both Pande and Bakshi were injured and have been admitted to a hospital in Nigdi.

Due to the impact of the collision, the car crossed over to the opposite lane and hit another Honda City car (MH-02 BM 4137) driven by Shaha, who was on his way to Pune. Shaha’s car strayed into the adjacent lane, colliding with a state transport bus (MH-20 D 9418). Shaha died on the spot.

Local residents informed the police and took the victims out of the cars. The police shifted the damaged cars with the help of a crane and reported that there was no traffic congestion on the expressway.

Police sub-inspector Satish Hodagar of Talegaon Dabhade police station told DNA, “Shaha is the owner of a firm and has been doing business with Bajaj Auto. On Monday afternoon, he was coming to Pune for personal work when the mishap took place.”