Ahmedabad: A driver who is suspected of having suffered a seizure at the wheel lost control of his SUV in Rakhial on Monday night, ramming into several vehicles and a shop, killing one woman and injuring 11 people. Mayank Patel, 32, a freelance finance consultant from Viratnagar in Odhav, has been booked by H-Division Traffic Police.The accident occurred around 9.45pm near Garibnagar crossroads. Patel’s SUV, coming from the Ajit Mill side, hit an autorickshaw, a two-wheeler and several pedestrians before smashing into a roadside shop.Autorickshaw driver Firoz Shaikh, who filed the FIR, was returning home with his daughter, sister and aunt after buying medicines from a clinic when the SUV hit his vehicle. It caused his rickshaw to hit a divider, injuring all four occupants. Shaikh’s daughter, who suffered head injuries, was taken to Civil Hospital.Police said preliminary inquiries with Patel’s family members suggested that he may have suffered a seizure while driving. Inspector H V Dhandhukia of H-Division Traffic Police said his relatives informed the officers that Patel lost control of the vehicle after suffering a medical episode and accidentally pressed the accelerator.“Even when our personnel reached the spot, he was unconscious, and his body appeared stiff, consistent with the after-effects of a seizure. We are verifying the medical aspects,” Dhandhukia said.What complicates the case for the cops is Patel’s record. His vehicle has nine traffic violation memos against it. Police are checking whether he was driving on each of those occasions. Patel was treated at Civil Hospital before his father moved him to a private hospital in Sola. Investigators say they are not ruling out any other reason that could have contributed to the accident.
