Four killed, three injured in accident on Mumbai-Pune Expressway; mishap occurred after truck jumped divider

Mumbai: Four persons died and three injured as a cement-laden truck jumped the divider and fell on two cars on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway on Friday morning. Due to the impact, one of the cars fell into the roadside gorge. [caption id=“attachment_5838211” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Mumbai-Pune expressway. News18 Lokmat[/caption] A police official said the truck, heading for Mumbai, jumped the divider and overturned while negotiating a turn and fell on two cars in the opposite lane near Khalapur around 11.45 am. One of the cars was pushed off the edge of the road and fell down 40 feet into a gorge, he said. Four passengers died in the mishap, while three persons sustained injuries and are undergoing treatment at a nearby hospital, an official attached to Khopoli police station said. The condition of two of them was stated to be critical, he added. Of the deceased, Nikita Angre, Chitra Angre and Pranali Kudekar were travelling in the cars, while Hasan Patel was in the truck. It is not yet clear whether Patel was driving the truck or was a cleaner (driver’s assistant), the official added.