Two senior citizens were killed on the spot, and three others were injured in separate road accidents that occurred within an hour in Gujarat’s Vadodara city on Thursday morning.
In the first incident at Airport Circle in Harni, a 69-year-old man was struck and killed by a speeding ice cream truck, which then crashed into two motorcycles and a four-wheeler. The victim, Hasmukh Vankar, was hit while crossing the road. The collision also injured two motorcycle riders, identified as Dilip and Prashant.
GB Bhabhaniya, Assistant Commissioner of Police, H Division, said, “The pedestrian, Hasmukh Soma Vankar, aged 69, was hit first, followed by the two-wheeler that a victim named Dilip was riding. While Vankar succumbed to injuries, three others were admitted to a private hospital. The body of the deceased person has been sent for post-mortem to the SSG Hospital.”
The police at Harni station have registered a case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for causing death due to negligence and rash driving and have begun a probe into the incident.
In the second incident, which occurred near the Vadsar bridge, a 75-year-old cyclist named Babu Ratilal Surti was struck and killed by a Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) dumper while he was attempting to cross the road on his way to work. The dumper, which was exiting a nearby petrol station, hit Surti, who died on the spot. Witnesses reported that the dumper driver abandoned the vehicle and fled the scene as the crowd gathered.
A team from the Manjalpur police station arrived to investigate the accident.
“We have nabbed the dumper driver based on the details of the vehicle. The process to arrest him formally has been initiated. The FIR has been lodged for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and rash driving,” Manjalpur police Inspector L D Gamara told The Indian Express.
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Surti’s body has also been sent for a post-mortem examination. His son, Amit, said, “VMC dumpers are often seen driving recklessly in various areas of the city. There must be strict action against such negligence on the part of the drivers. Today, I have lost my father, and I hope no one else has to endure this.”
