Mumbai: Drunk rams into seven cars on EEH, critically injures own wife

Driver: Nitin Gulve. (right) Victim: Anjali Gulve. Pics/Rajesh Gupta

A 59-year-old man, who was driving back home to Thane from Bandra on Sunday, lost control of his vehicle on the Eastern Express Highway and crashed into seven other vehicles. While he escaped with minor injuries, his wife was seriously injured and his car totalled. Cops, who have booked the driver, said preliminary investigations revealed that he was drunk at the time.

The police said Nitin Gulve, a resident of Paachpakhadi, Thane, and his wife, Anjali, had gone to meet his mother at Bandra on Sunday in his car. While returning home around 6.05 pm, he had reached the Navghar flyover, where he suddenly lost control of his car and started crashing into vehicles. "The first car he hit was a Scorpio, and he then hit six smaller cars. While the other cars had minor damages, Gulve's own car was completely crushed," an officer from Navghar police station said. "When his car hit the seventh vehicle and stopped, other motorists stopped their vehicles and came to Gulve's aid," the officer added.

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The Gulves' car that was destroyed in the accident. Pic/Rajesh Gupta

The motorists saw that Gulve was wearing a seatbelt, but Anjali, who had not been wearing hers, had smashed her head on the dashboard. "The woman was covered in blood, so the motorists immediately called the Navghar police, who rushed to the spot," the officer said. "Anjali has sustained head injuries, and the doctors suspect internal bleeding. She has been kept under observation at Jupiter Hospital," the cop added.

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Meanwhile, the police have booked Gulve under IPC sections 279 (rash driving) ,337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) and section 185 (driving by a drunken person) of Motor Vehicle Act. Gulve, reportedly retired from a renowned company in Kalwa at a senior position. "We have arrested the accused. Fortunately, the incident didn't lead to a major mishap. However, the accused's wife is seriously injured as she was not wearing a seatbelt," said Pushkraj Suryavanshi, senior inspector of Navghar police station. "A medical test done on the accused is awaited," he added.

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