Nitin was driving without a break, say his relatives

MUMBAI: Nitin Dhumal’s mother was inconsolable. The 25-year old who was driving the vehicle that met with an accident on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway this morning, died with 14 others of a marriage party.

For the Dhumal family from Nandwal village in Satara district, it was a major shock as three of their members passed away within a year.

According to Vitthal Tambe, a family friend, Nitin’s mother had lost her husband a year ago. The death of her daughter-in-law, wife of her elder son, soon followed. “Now Nitin’s death has left her in a state of shock,” said Tambe with tears in his eyes.

Nitin, relatives say, was driving continuously from Chawaneshwar since 11 pm last night. Although another vehicle carrying more people of the marriage party was following them, it stopped at Khopoli for refreshment. Nitin, however, continued driving at the request of his relatives, Tambe said.

The vehicles were heading for the bride’s home at Nerul. The relatives of those who died in the mishap thronged Panvel Municipal Council hospital on Sunday. The police say rash and negligent driving might have led to the accident. However, Nitin’s relentless driving — he had not taken a break, while the accompanying vehicle stopped at Khopoli — and a nap that he might have taken during the journey might have been another cause for the mishap. According to DCP Pravin Pawar, the postmortem did not reveal any alcoholic substance in Nitin’s body.

According to an estimate, almost 65,000 passenger cars use the Expressway daily.