NAVI MUMBAI: A deadly combination of drowsy driving, speeding and heavy rain claimed the life of a 54-year-old passenger after the pickup truck in which he was travelling slammed into a trailer on the Palaspe-JNPT Road in Panvel on Tuesday night. The injured driver has been booked for causing death by negligence and rash driving.
Event Context
The deceased, Ashok Dattatraya Maskar, 54, a resident of Sai Angan Building in Sector 5, Sanpada, was travelling in the front passenger seat of the pickup when the accident occurred between 10pm and 11pm, around 100 metres from Nisarg Dhaba in Raigad district.
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According to the Panvel City police, the pickup was being driven by Sandesh Sarjerao Kesare, 42, also a Sanpada resident. Investigators said Kesare was allegedly driving at high speed despite heavy rainfall and poor visibility when he dozed off behind the wheel, failed to notice a trailer ahead and crashed into it.
Maskar suffered fatal injuries and died on the spot, while Kesare sustained serious injuries in the collision.
“As per the driver’s statement, he had dozed off while driving and, because of the heavy rain and poor visibility, failed to notice the trailer ahead, resulting in the crash,” the investigating officer said.
Based on a complaint filed by Police Head Constable Kesari Bhagwan Patil of Panvel City police station, an FIR has been registered against Kesare under Sections 106(1), 281, 125(1) and 125(B) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with Section 184 of the Motor Vehicles Act, for causing death by negligence, rash driving and endangering human life.
