Three dead in high-speed crash on Palm Beach road

Three people from Chakan in Pune district died in a road accident when their car rammed into a trailer near Killa junction on Palm Beach road in Navi Mumbai in wee hours of Monday. According to Belapur police, five men from Chakan had come to Navi Mumbai in a Ford Figo on Sunday morning, and were returning at around 2 am when the car rammed into a trailer that was going to JNPT from Uran Phata. The car was reportedly being driven at speed of over 100 kmph.

The deceased were identified as Dinesh Thomre (27), Atish Jambukar (23) and Rahul Thomre (24). Rajan Kushawah (19) was grievously injured while Ganesh Jambukar (28) was left unhurt.

Carnage: The mangled remains of the car afteru00a0it collided withu00a0the trailer onu00a0Palm Beach Road yesterday morning

Rajesh Babshetty, Belapur traffic police inspector, said "As per our information, five men, all from Chakan, were in the car which was being driven at high speed on Palm Beach road in wee hours of Monday. At Killa junction, the driver Dinesh lost control of the car and rammed into the trailer. The roof of the car was torn off and consequently, the three people including Dinesh were crushed."

"All three died on the spot, while a fourth passenger was grievously injured and has been admitted in Sion hospital. The fifth passenger was lying down on the seat at the time of the accident and was unhurt," he added. Dinesh, who owned a garage in Chakan, had borrowed the car from his friend for the day. "Dinesh had asked me to give him my car for one day as he had some work to do in Navi Mumbai. I was told about the accident this morning and I rushed here. My car has been damaged badly and I don't think that it can be repaired," said the owner of the car, who did not want to be named.

Since January this year, there have been 287 road accidents in the Navi Mumbai area, of which 52 accidents have occurred on Palm Beach road. 11 people have lost their lives on the fatal stretch between January and November.u00a0