Thane: Pregnant woman critical after ambulance she was travelling in hits divider

A 32-year-old pregnant woman was critically injured after a private ambulance turned turtle after meeting with an accident on Sunday morning at Anand Nagar in Thane. The ambulance, ferrying the pregnant woman, was coming from Malegaon to Mumbai. Doctors said the woman’s unborn child could not be saved.

The incident occurred around 7 am on Sunday, police said. “The driver, Shakur Rashid Beg (45), was driving very fast. The vehicle rammed with the divider near Anand Nagar toll plaza and turned turtle,” said a senior officer.

According to one of the passengers, 18-year-old Mohammad Shadab Momin, a resident of Islampura in Malegaon, there were six people in the ambulance, including the driver. “My aunt, Tankila Ansari, had a complicated pregnancy. To get it checked, we were coming to the JJ Hospital. My aunt, her mother-in-law, her husband, my father and I were all in the ambulance. The ambulance belonged to a neighbour, who had lent it to us,” he said.

After the incident, the fire brigade and police rushed to the spot and managed to evacuate all the passengers. While everyone was sent to Rajawadi Hospital, the pregnant woman was in critical condition and was transferred to Sion Hospital on Sunday afternoon.

While the other victims are out of danger and are recuperating at the Rajawadi hospital, Tankila is still critical. “We couldn’t save her baby. Her condition is critical and we are monitoring her minutely,” said a senior doctor from the Sion Hospital.

“We have booked the driver for rash and negligent driving. It is possible that he lost control of the vehicle and rammed into the divider. We will arrest him once he is discharged from the hospital,” said a senior officer from Kopri police station.