Navi Mumbai: Two men were killed and five others, including a woman, were injured after an SUV in which they were travelling along the Mumbai-Pune Expressway crashed into a breakdown truck parked on the service road at the 25km-mark after crossing Madap tunnel near Khalapur on Wednesday morning.Khalapur police inspector Sachin Pawar said the T-permit SUV driver, Ghansoli resident Savanna Anadan (52), had picked up six masons, including a contractor, from Dadar and was to drop them at a construction site in Pune for which he charged a total Rs 3,000. Police suspect that due to low visibility amid heavy rain, he did not notice the parked truck and crashed into it.Acting on a complaint by the container truck driver Mahendra Kumar Jaiswar (42), Khalapur police have registered an FIR against the Anadan, who was booked for rash and negligent driving causing death among other offences under the BNS and the Motor Vehicles Act.The deceased passengers were identified as Mohammad Rehman Mohammed Mustaq Shaikh (33) and the labour contractor Gulam Mustafa Kasimuddin Shaikh (31), both residents of Kurla who hailed from Kolkata.The injured masons — Rahim Shaikh (26), Ajmal Kitbule (26), Alik Shaikh (26) and Asma Alaq Temudin (32) — have been admitted at MGM hospital Kamothe. Anadan sustained minor bruises in the mishap and has not been hospitalised, said police.Pawar said, “As per complainant Jaiswar, around 2am, his vehicle loaded with 31kg salt consignment to be delivered in Wakdi, Pune, broke down after crossing Madap tunnel as the axle got dismantled and two rear tyres came off. He pulled off the truck to the shoulder service lane and safely parked it and informed the truck owner, Vijaykumar Kharje, over mobile. Kharje told him he would send a mechanic in the morning. To prevent a mishap, Jaiswar kept a road reflector behind the truck. He dialled the emergency number of the expressway control room, but could not connect due to mobile network issues. After a while, a highway patrol van came and kept side barricades behind the truck for alerting oncoming vehicles. Jaiswar stood behind his vehicle the whole night and using his mobile torch signalled at the motorists to divert. But around 11 am, a SUV came at high speed and crashed into the road reflector and barricades rammed into the truck’s rear.”Khalapur police, ambulance, highway patrol van arrived within a short time and the severely injured two passengers in the SUV were rushed to Khalapur civic hospital, where they were declared brought dead. The other four injured persons, including the driver, were admitted at MGM Hospital.
