Car rams into van: 3 killed, 21 injured

Celebrations of Diwali Padwa turned into tragedy as three women were killed and 21 people got injured on Mumbai-Pune Expressway when a speeding car dashed a pick-up van near Kusgaon in Lonavala on Monday night at around 7.45 pm.

The deceased have been identified as Suman Maruti Raut (50), Sheelabai Datta Raut (35) and Girijabai Kishan Raut (45), all residents of Rautwadi in Maval taluka.

The incident took place near Sinhgad College, Lonavala, when a speeding car rammed into the pick-up van in an attempt to overtake it. According to the police, while the car was overtaking, the front tyre of the car got burst due to which the driver lost control and it rammed into the pick-up van, which was on its way to Mumbai from Pune. One woman died on the spot while the other two died when they were undergoing treatment.

The injured persons were rushed to Lokmanya Hospital in Nigdi. Shrikrishna Joshi, public relation officer of Lokmanya Hospital, Nigdi said, “Out of admitted people, eight had head injuries. They were taken to the hospital between 8 and 9 pm and after two hours, they were discharged.”

The Lonavala rural police said there was a death of a relative of Raut family in another village and these villagers from Rautwadi were on their way to that village to meet their relatives and to console them when the mishap took place.