Kolhapur : A late-night shortcut home turned fatal for four friends from Satara when their SUV crashed into a truck on the Karad flyover after a failed overtaking attempt. The accident, which also injured three others, is the first fatality recorded on the newly opened highway bridge.
The victims, all aged between 20 and 25, were returning to Katarkhatav village from Kolhapur when the accident occurred around 10.40pm on the bridge. Police said the SUV was travelling at 120-130 kmph when it approached a truck on the flyover. the driver attempted to change lanes to overtake, lost control and crashed into the truck before slamming into the divider While negotiating a slight curve near the underpass chowk section of the bridge. The driver tried to overtake, lost control and hit the truck before crashing into the divider,” said inspector Dattatray Darade of Karad police station. Tuesday night’s crash is the first fatal accident reported on the new stretch.
Police said Tejas Deshmukh was driving the vehicle. Three other occupants escaped with minor injuries. “The SUV was moving at high speed. He died along with the front-seat passenger and the occupants seated directly behind him in two rows. The three other passengers in the SUV escaped with only minor injuries and were discharged after treatment at Krishna Hospital. The tragedy has cast a shadow over a project built to ease traffic movement on the Pune-Bengaluru national highway. Opened in phases over the past few months, the flyover is among the longest bridges in the Maharashtra section of the highway, and was designed to bypass Karad’s chronic bottlenecks. Thousands of vehicles now use the elevated corridor daily to avoid city congestion. The accident has left Katarkhatav in mourning.
Hundreds attended the funeral on Wednesday, where four pyres were lit side by side.