Seven were injured in the mishap. Gayl, who was severely wounded in the head, died at Sion Hospital, said police. Martha succumbed to her injuries at Bhabha Hospital.
Gayl Jason Almeida, 36, from Andheri and Martha Lajar Thotarmurti, 30, from Goregaon had gone to attend Joyce Meyer’s ‘Festival of Life’ at the MMRDA grounds in Bandra-Kurla Complex on Sunday night. When they came out of it around 9.45 pm, death came calling on the wheels of a Fiat Palio.
Sanket Sonawane, 23, son of a BMC executive engineer, was at the wheel of the car. Driving at a breakneck speed, he cannoned into a group of people who had just come out of the show, said eyewitnesses.
Seven were injured in the mishap. Gayl, who was severely wounded in the head, died at Sion Hospital, said police. Martha succumbed to her injuries at Bhabha Hospital.
The road was quite crowded when the mishap occurred, as thousands had emerged from the MMRDA grounds. They tried to stop the car, but Sonawane escaped. Sandip Sukhale, a police beat marshal patrolling the area, also saw the accident.
He gave the Fiat Palio (MH-01-GA-2571) a chase, but failing to catch up with it, informed the police control room. Immediately, all patrol vehicles in the vicinity were alerted.
“Within 10 minutes, a patrol van intercepted Sonawane in Dharavi and arrested him,” said Rolfie Pereira, senior inspector, BKC police station.
Two of the other five victims — Paul Raj Abraham, 41 and Ramanna Alamveli, 30 — were undergoing treatment at Bhabha Hospital. The others — Ratnakumari Thotarmurti, 11, Vijaykumar Thotarmurti, 12 and David Nadar, 26 — have been discharged.
“The deceased and the injured were walking along the road. The car rammed into them from behind,” said Pereira. “The car’s windshield cracked as one of the deceased fell on it after she was hit.”
The senior inspector added that medical examinations showed that Sanket was drunk. “He has been charged with rash driving, causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others and causing death by negligence,” he said.
Sonawane was produced before the metropolitan magistrate’s court in Bandra on Monday and was remanded in police custody till January 25.
narayan@dnaindia.net
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}