A 24-year-old truck cleaner was killed and six others were injured in a five-truck pile-up on Bhumkar Bridge on Katraj-Dehu Road Bypass around 12.30am on Saturday
On Sept 13, two people were killed and 12 others injured when a truck heading towards Mumbai jumped the median near Jambhulwadi and crashed head-on into a car and a multipurpose vehicle around 12.15am. The latest accident occurred barely 400-metre from Navale Bridge when a speeding trailer truck crashed into the rear of a truck (carrying concrete pump) moving ahead, setting off a chain-reaction collision involving multiple heavy vehicles travelling towards Mumbai from Satara. Traffic movement resumed around 2.30am.
It continues to remain a major black spot despite measures introduced by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and traffic police.
A car caught in the pile-up was also damaged, with one occupant injured,” senior inspector Varsha Deshmukh of Narhe police station said. The accident comes less than a week after another fatal crash on the bypass. Police identified the deceased as Sandeep Jagarnath Kumar, a native of Uttar Pradesh, who was travelling in the truck carrying concrete pump. “Six drivers and cleaners from Rajasthan, UP, Bihar, Karnataka suffered injuries in the crash. Police suspect the accused driver fell asleep at the wheel, causing the crash. Deputy commissioner of police Milind Mohite and other senior officers rushed to the scene. Heavy-duty cranes were deployed to remove the mangled vehicles, while traffic on the Mumbai-bound carriageway remained suspended for nearly two hours during rescue and recovery operations. The crash has once again cast the spotlight on the notorious Navale Bridge stretch, long considered one of Pune’s most accident-prone highway corridors. The steep downhill gradient from the Katraj tunnel, coupled with dense truck traffic, frequent brake failures, abrupt lane merges and speeding, has repeatedly led to serious accidents in the area.
We have registered a case against the trailer truck driver for rash and negligent driving and causing death by negligence. The driver was also injured in the accident.”