PUNE: A speeding tanker ran over a six-year-old boy and seriously injured his mother after hitting their scooter from the rear near the RTO Chowk around 2pm on Saturday.
Police said the boy, Dattatray Bharat Thorat, was riding pillion with his mother, Manisha (38). They were going to a relative’s home at Chakan from their residence at Shivnerinagar in Kondhwa, the police said.
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Reckless tanker drivers have been responsible for quite a few fatal road accidents in the city off late. Besides strict action against them, an increase in penalty for flouting the road rules can be a deterrent. Also, the traffic police and the Regional Transport Office should team up to check the condition of the tankers, which are often not maintained properly.
Manisha drove her scooter along the Moledina Road to reach Gadital Chowk, from where she took a right turn to emerge at the RTO Chowk, after crossing the railway underpass, the police said.
The tanker was trailing the scooter on the same route and hit the two-wheeler moments after it crossed the underpass, the police said. Dattatray and his mother fell of the scoter. The tanker ran over the boy and its wheels rolled over his mother’s leg, the police said.
Tanker driver Ram Babu Khade (24) of Shirur was later arrested on the charge of rash and negligent driving following an FIR lodged by the deceased boy’s uncle, Bharat Thorat (35) of Kondhwa, with the Bundgarden police.
A police officer said, “Manisha wanted to meet her relatives in Chakan and had left her home around 1pm on her scooter. She had reached the RTO Chowk when the tanker hit her scooter from the rear.”
Dattatray and his mother were taken to the Sassoon General Hospital, where the boy was declared dead on arrival. The police said the boy’s father worked in a private company as a clerical staff, while Manisha was a homemaker.