24 March,2011 07:02 AM IST | | Niharika Puri and Arvind Walmiki
Monday's accident claims third life as boy succumbs to head injuries; cops await lab results to ascertain if driver, on a ventilator now, was drunk
The road mishap on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link (BWSL) that killed two women, claimed a third life on Tuesday night, that of 11-year-old Deepak Mhetre.
Deepak succumbed to his injuries yesterday after fighting for his life since the accident on Monday
Deepak had been critical and succumbed to his head injuries at KEM Hospital.
After the accident on Monday, Deepak had been admitted to Bhabha Hospital in Bandra with other victims, but had to be shifted to KEM as his deteriorating condition cried for a neurosurgeon to operate on him.
Four days ago, Ranjeet Kamble, a resident of BDD Chawl, Worli, had rammed a Toyota Altis carrying nine other people into a divider close to the Worli end of the BWSL, killing two women and injuring seven children, including Deepak, present in the car.
He had taken the women and children for a joyride and was to return the automobile to the Toyota showroom in Worli, where he was employed for the last two months.
Mourning the loss
The air of mourning loomed heavy in BDD Chawl, Worli, when his body was taken for cremation to the Worli-Koliwada cremation grounds on Wednesday afternoon.
Deepak is remembered by the residents for being "a good-natured boy, who would help his father, Babu, a priest at a local temple".
Deepak had his Std IV exams going on when tragedy struck.
Prasad Shirke, another friend, is relieved and upset at the same time. He had been eager to go for a drive in the car but his mother, Sushma, did not allow him.
"I thank my stars. He asked me if he could go but I said no. After I heard about the mishap, I am grateful that I made that choice," Sushma said.
The other six children who were admitted to Bhabha Hospital are on the road to recovery in the Trauma Ward.
However, the condition of Ajay Pujari (12), who suffered abdominal injuries is grave.
Meanwhile, Ranjit Kamble (38), the man behind the wheel at the time of the accident, also in a critical condition at the hospital, is surrounded by allegations of drinking andu00a0 driving.
Although Kamble's colleagues are inclined to believe he was sober, some of his acquaintances said he seemed drunk.
"He did not appear inebriated when he had accompanied a salesman to Andheri on a test drive for the same car.
He has always been a responsible driver and had never given anyone cause to complain," Kamble's colleague said.
The doctors at Bhabha told MiD DAY that they sent the blood samples collected from Kamble's body to the Worli police yesterday.
The police are expected to forward them to the State Forensics Laboratory in Kalina to establish if he had consumed alcohol before the fatal drive.
Sub Inspector A Raskar of Worli police station said, "We have received the samples and are awaiting the test results."
