Driver says his air brakes suddenly failed and he was unable to stop the vehicle in time
The truck that ran Yadav over (right) The victim, 20-year-old Shalu Yadav
A 20-year-old Std XII student from VG Vaze (Kelkar) College died on Thursday after allegedly being hit by a truck in the Amar Nagar area of Mulund West. The victim, identified as Shalu Rohitkumar Yadav, was a resident of Amar Nagar and lived with her parents and two siblings. According to her father, despite challenging circumstances, she had excelled academically, scoring high marks in her Std X exams, which helped her secure admission to Kelkar College.
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Every day after class, Shalu would walk to the nearby Piramal Towers, where her uncle worked as a watchman, to give him his lunch tiffin. On Thursday, she left home around 11.15 am and while crossing the Shriram Pada service road, a speeding truck hit her. According to the Mulund police, the truck was traveling at high speed and ran over Shalu, killing her instantly. The tiffin box she was carrying flew across the road but remained intact and unopened.
The driver of the truck, identified as 30-year-old Mohammad Zakir Mohammad Shabir Khan allegedly stopped the vehicle about 7–8 feet from the accident site. Locals immediately restrained Khan and began to manhandle him. A resident of Surat, Khan was transporting waste glass bottles from Uttar Pradesh to a warehouse in Kandivli.
Khan, who was detained by Mulund police, told mid-day, “After unloading at Kandivli, my next trip was to Surat, Gujarat. I was passing through Mulund to reach Sonpur signal in Bhandup and proceed to Surat via LBS Road. As I approached Dargah Road, an elevated road near Amar Nagar, the air brakes on my vehicle stopped functioning. Because the road was steep and the truck was heavy, I couldn’t stop it despite stepping on the air brakes and that’s when the girl suddenly crossed the road.”
A police officer familiar with the investigation explained that air brakes are a friction-based system using compressed air to slow down, stop, or activate the emergency brakes on a vehicle. Although the incident occurred around 11.20 am, it was reported to the police only at 12.30 pm. Doctors declared the victim dead on arrival at the hospital. Following this, Khan was detained, and an accidental death report (ADR) was initially filed.
By Thursday evening, after a preliminary investigation, the ADR was converted into a formal FIR against Khan. “We are now investigating the matter extensively. The accused driver will be presented in court on Friday,” said PSI Navnath Dhekale of Mulund police station. He added that RTO officials will examine the vehicle to verify the driver’s claim of technical issues with the air brakes.
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