Mumbai : In a dramatic incident on Friday night, a tempo transporting bulky steel pipes ploughed into a height restriction barrier at Anda Point on the old Mumbai-Pune highway, causing its heavy load to smash into two following cars and trap their occupants under the debris.
The crash took place around 9.15 pm within the jurisdiction of Khopoli Police Station in Raigad district as the tempo was heading from Pune towards Mumbai. Investigators believe the driver failed to notice the height barrier and hit it at speed, which dislodged several long pipes onto vehicles trailing behind.
According to police, the tempo’s operator, identified as 44-year-old Jadhir Abdul Shaikh, was allegedly driving too fast and without due caution for road conditions. The fallen load first struck a Kia and then a Hyundai Verna, the latter being driven by 36-year-old Chandani Ashok Shah of Lonavala.
Two people, 72-year-old Ripnavita Ashok Shah and 50-year-old Baijnath Naguram Munde, both from Pune district were hurt in the collision. One driver was pinned inside the wreckage and required extrication.
A coordinated rescue involving IRB patrol units, local volunteers, crane teams and traffic police freed the trapped occupants, who were then transferred by ambulance from Lokmanya Hospital to Pawana for medical attention.
Khopoli police have registered a case against the tempo driver under Sections 281 and 125(a) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2025 along with Section 184 of the Motor Vehicles Act for rash and negligent driving. Police Inspector Sachin Hire is overseeing the ongoing investigation.
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