Third fatal accident on Ahmedabad highway claims Gujarat man

In the third fatal accident on the Maharashtra side of the MumbaiAhmedabad highway this year a man was killed on Thursday after the front right wheel of his SUV burst on the highway After the tyre burst the vehicle lost control crashed through the median and hit the diesel tank of a truck in the opposite Mumbaibound lane The impact sent the SUV back over the median and into the original lane The driver was identified as Arun Kumar ParekhParekh was 38 years old The accident took place near Khaniwade bridge Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar MBVV policersquos Divisional Assistant Commissioner of Police ACP Ramchandra Deshmukh said ldquoParekh was headed to Gujarat on Thursday morning when the front right wheel of his car suddenly burst on the highway and he lost control He died on the spot on the lane opposite to the one he was driving onrdquoAlso Read IN PHOTOS Four killed carbus collision on MumbaiAhmedabad HighwayPraful Wagh incharge of Mandvi police station said ldquoParekh was alone in the car It was completely damaged We have informed his relatives in Gujarat and they are on the way to claim Parekhrsquos mortal remainsrdquoThe car that Arun Kumar Parekh was driving PicHanif PatelAccording to a source from the police when the Scorpio crashed into the divider it acted like a ramp throwing the car into the air ldquoIt happened very rapidly When the driver of the Hyva truck on the opposite lane noticed the flying Scorpio he veered to the left Since the Hyva was loaded it toppledrdquo said the source The toppled container halted traffic for a whileLater more details about the accident emerged and Mandvi police incharge Wagh added ldquoWhen the Hyva truck swerved left Parekhrsquos Scorpio hit its diesel tank which sent it crashing back into the original Gujaratbound lane By this time the Hyva truck had toppled and its diesel tank got damaged toordquoThe incharge of Virar traffic police Prashant Langi said ldquoThe truck driver was injured in the incident Traffic was halted for a brief period We cleared the road to allow a smooth flow of vehicles on the highwayrdquoMeanwhile Wagh added ldquoThe driver of the SUV has been booked under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code IPC including Section 304A causing death by negligence and other sections of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988rdquoBy Thursday evening Parekhrsquos family was on the way to Maharashtra from Gandhinagar GujaratldquoParekhrsquos Aadhaar card was found in his pocket We used it to check his address and ACP Deshmukh contacted the local police station in Gandhinagar One of the officers there then went to Parekhrsquos familyrdquo Wagh told midday So far Parekhrsquos family has only been told that he met an accident and has been hospitalisedldquoThere were two iPhones on the dashboard of the car a few bags and other materialrdquo Wagh added Police have not opened Parekhrsquos bags so far and are waiting for his parents to arrive ldquoWe will know more about him once his family is hererdquo Wagh addedPast mishaps this yearThis yearrsquos first accident occurred on January 8 when three from a family of seven were killed when the driver tried to overtake a truck near Kasa but ended up hitting a truck from behind The family was headed to Bhilad from Nalasopara in a car Those killed included Narottam Chhana Rathod 65 his son Ketan Rathod 32 and granddaughter Aarvi Deepesh Rathod oneThe second accident occurred in the wee hours of January 31 when the driver of a highend car apparently dozed off behind the wheel jumped onto the opposite lane and collided headon with a luxury bus All four occupants of the car died on the spot They were identified as Mohammad Hafeez 36 Ibrahim Dawood 60 Ashia Collector 57 and Ismail Desai 42 They were residents of Bardoli in Surat Dawood and Collector had to catch an international flightIn 2022 industrialist Cyrus Mistry was killed on the same highway riddled with potholes Many travellers have lost their lives because of poor road engineering and faulty design of the NH 48In a series of reports after Mistryrsquos death on September 4 2022 midday highlighted how travellers have to cough up toll for the important stretch Despite the alarmingly high death rates every year no efforts were taken to correct faulty road designs At certain patches streetlights were switched off due to nonpayment of bills by the controlling authority forcing travellers to drive at their own risk