Man dead as drunk businessman rams car into bike in Navi Mumbai

A 21-year-old man from Thane died on Sunday after a speeding car hit his bike on Palm Beach Road.

The driver, 40-year-old Hemant Mishra, who runs a TV cable and CCTV business in Kalachowkie, in Chembur, was drunk when the accident took place. He was arrested after a while.

According to the police, Vishal Patil, a resident of Desai village in Thane, had come to Navi Mumbai for some work on Saturday evening and was returning home around 3.10am on his bike via Palm Beach road.

“Patil was travelling towards Vashi from Belapur. As he was crossing the Vazirani signal near Nerul, the car which was also going in the same direction, hit him from behind,” said KR Wankhade, assistant inspector, Nerul police station.The impact was such that Patil was flung away. Patil, who was not wearing a helmet, suffered severe injuries and lost consciousness.

“After hitting the bike, Mishra was still unable to control his car and rammed into a mini truck which was also going in the same direction. The driver of the truck suffered minor injuries,” Wankhade said.

The injured were taken to a nearby hospital, but Patil was declared brought dead and the truck driver was discharged after sometime, he said.

Mishra later surrendered himself to the police, said Wankhede. “We then took him for medical tests and found him drunk.”

“Mishra owns a flat in Belapur and had come to a society meeting on Saturday evening. After that he got drunk and was driving home ,” said Wankhede.

The police have booked Mishra under sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), 304A (causing death by negligence), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections 184 (driving dangerously) and 185 (for drink driving) of the Motor Vehicles Act.

“Patil’s body was sent to NMMC Hospital for post-mortem and was then handed over to his family. The reports are yet to come,” another officer said.

First Published: Aug 07, 2018 00:41 IST