Mumbai: Driver runs car over man in bid to flee mishap spot

MUMBAI: A car raced into a couple on a morning walk in a hit-and-run case in Vasai on Friday. The driver ran over the man in his desperation to flee.

Seriously injured in the incident, Sikander Ali (42), an architect with a private firm in Kurla, was battling for life at the Alliance hospital in Nalasopara (east). His wife, Salma (36), a homemaker, sustained minor injuries and was under treatment.

Salma told the police that they were walking on the side of the road and it was foggy.

CCTV footage could not throw light on the driver or the car, except that it was a commercial vehicle.

The couple had set out for their walk around 5.30 am, as usual. By 6.15 am, they returned to their residential building, Anand Shraddha in Sector 2, Evershine.

The CCTV cameras outside the housing society of the couple captured the two returning home and walking alongside the road. The couple is engaged in conversation.

A white Swift Dzire from the opposite direction rams into them. Salma, who was walking on the inside, is flung away by the impact and lands at a distance. The car then runs over Ali, who is down on the road. The car halts for a second and the driver is seen restarting the car. The wheels of the car run over Ali again and the driver flees.

Then, a few morning walkers and vehicle drivers on the road rush to the couple’s aid.

Doctors at the hospital said that Ali’s condition was serious. He regained consciousness by noon but could not recall how he came to be in hospital.

Doctors said Ali sustained serious injuries on the chest and rib bone.

A case of negligent driving was filed against the unidentified driver by the police. A copy of the CCTV footage was with the police. Ali’s nephew, Hasan, said the road had many cameras and it should not be difficult to trace the driver. He said had the driver stopped the car immediately after ramming into his uncle, his condition would not have been so bad.