Navi Mumbai: A chauffeur died after a container mounted on a trailer fell on the car on Mumbai-Goa highway Sunday morning. The car owner who was in the rear seat, on the left, escaped with minor injury.
Around 9.30 am, the driver of the trailer truck applied brakes suddenly while trying to prevent a collision with a bike ahead of his vehicle at a turn near Karnala Bird Sanctuary, Panvel. The truck driver lost control due to which the container snapped, and the trailer toppled sideways, causing the heavy container to land on its left, just where the car was moving at that time. The car chauffeur, Jagdish Hajra (32), and the woman in the rear seat, Pallavi Joshi (56), both residents of Mulund, were later extricated out of their mangled vehicle, said senior police inspector Gajanan Ghadge. The chauffeur was declared ‘brought dead’ at Panvel sub-district hospital where the woman was treated for minor injuries.
A crane was deployed to move the container trailer that was blocking the highway, disrupting traffic. The truck driver, Krushna Rao (30), who hails from Uttar Pradesh, has been booked. He has been detained, the police said.
The car owner, a homemaker, and the chauffeur were returning to Mulund after a visit to her hometown in Alibaug, said sub-inspector Harshal Rajput. The trailer truck belongs to a logistics firm. The container, which bore the seal of the customs dept, was on its way to Mumbai. —George Mendonca
