App cab driver charred to death after cement mixer jumps divider on WEH flyover in Borivli | Mumbai News

Mumbai: A cement mixer moving on the Western Express Highway in Borivli lost control and crossed the divider, colliding into an app cab coming from the opposite direction and resulting in the death of the cab driver early on Thursday.
The police said the collision sparked a fire and the cab driver, Maqsood Alam Shaikh (54), was trapped in the vehicle and charred to death.

The accused, Dinesh Kumar Bhartiya (29), fled the scene and was later tracked down and arrested. Bhartiya was booked on charges of rash driving and negligence by the Kasturba Marg police.
The incident occurred around 1.45 am. The cement mixer, steered by Bhartiya, was moving on the north-bound arm of the National Park flyover. The police are inquiring whether a tyre burst or any other issue led to the mixer moving sideways for 200 metres and crossing the divider. Two other cars narrowly escaped colliding into the mixer, but Shaikh was not so lucky.
The police said Shaikh had dropped a passenger and was returning to the airport, where he typically picked up passengers. When the mixer collided into the car, a fire broke out and the front portion of the car was gutted. The police suspect that Shaikh could not extricate his legs and move out of the vehicle and was charred. When the police finally recovered his body, he could not be identified.
Other app cab drivers that had passed by the stretch and noticed Shaikh’s cab in flames started making inquiries among their co-workers to find out whose cab it was. They helped the police identify Shaikh and trace his family. He is survived by his wife and a daughter in her mid-twenties, who is newly married.
The police verified the registration number of the cement mixer with the RTO and found the owner’s address. With the owner’s help, they were able to reach Bhartiya and took him into custody. The police did not find any evidence of driving under the influence of alcohol.
The police said Shaikh lived at Marol with his family. He earlier drove his own cab but after the permit expired, he had started to drive someone else’s vehicle.