Pune: A third-year BA student (19) was killed and six others, including four girls, were injured after an SUV and a scooter collided and veered into a group of students waiting at a bus stop at Kurkundi Phata, about 45km from the city, on Friday morning.
The injured students, Sanjana Rale (19), Vaishnavi Bhokase (19), Vaishnavi Jadhav (20) and Gayatri Kolekar (19), along with the two riding the scooter, Rohan Gargote and Omkar Nehre, were admitted to a nearby hospital.
Senior police inspector Digambar Suryavanshi of North Mahalunge police told TOI that the accident occurred when the students were waiting at Kurkundi Phata for a bus to their college in Rajgurunagar. “He told us that he was on his way to a polling booth for the graduates’ constituency,” Suryavanshi said. Police said the accident spot was a blind stretch and the road was narrow. “Local residents have been demanding installation of speed-breakers at the spot,” Suryavanshi said.
The two youths riding the scooter were also injured in the crash, while the SUV driver fled the spot after the accident. North Mahalunge police identified the deceased as Aditi Rale, a resident of Kurkundi. The SUV was travelling from Khed towards Alandi, while the scooter was approaching Kurkundi Phata from Kadus village. The SUV driver abandoned the vehicle and fled. The SUV owner, who is from Alandi, was also in the vehicle and was taken into custody by police. Bushes along the road obstructed drivers’ view of vehicles approaching from Kurkundi and Kadus, leading to frequent accidents.