16 September,2014 07:09 AM IST | | Ankoor Anvekar
The four deceased were construction labourers heading to Dombivli on a truck; they were killed when another vehicle collided with the truck
Four people were killed and 11 others sustained injuries in a late night accident on the Mumbai-Pune expressway on Monday. The incident took place at around 12.50 am, close to Tembri village near Khalapur, when an unidentified vehicle brushed a tempo truck stationed at the Mumbai-Pune expressway.
The truck had 15 labourers who were on their way to Dombivli from Pune. The truck driver, Ishwar Rathod (24) said he had parked the vehicle on the roadside to change the front left tyre, which had been damaged due to overheating.
When the unidentified vehicle collided with the truck, three people who were waiting by its side were killed on the spot. Another passenger was also seriously injured and was rushed to Mahatma Gandhi Mission Hospital in Kamothe, but succumbed to his injuries on the same day.
The deceased have been identified as Haldar Bhagwan Mohto (42), Yelappa Pujari (35), Siddesh Patil (25) and Prem Mehta (33). Most of the labourers on the truck are from Jharkhand and work at various construction sites across Mumbai and Pune.
Ganesh Mehta, brother of the deceased Prem Mehta said, "My brother was very young and has two children to look after at home in Jharkhand. It's very hard to digest that he is no more with us. He died due to severe head injuries."
Officials at the Khalapur police station said they are trying to find the unidentified vehicle and have registered a case against an unknown person under sections 304 (A), 279, 337 and 338 of the India Penal Code, and also under sections 184 and 185 of the Motor Vehicle Act.
