3-yr-old run over by school van, driver arrested

NAVI MUMBAI: A three-year-old boy died in a road accident after he was hit by a schoolvan at Kopar Khairane on Friday.

According to the police, the victim, Yuvraj Sarode, lived with his parents at Ghansoli. He had come to his uncle’s place at Sector 4 in Kopar Khairane on Friday afternoon.

“Around 6.30pm, the boy, along with his grandmother and a cousin, was going for a walk in a nearby garden. As they were crossing the road, a schoolvan which was passing by hit the boy. He suffered injuries in his head and was rushed to NMMC hospital in Vashi. However, the doctors declared him brought dead,” said Umesh Munde, assistant inspector of Kopar Khairane police station.

The victim’s grandmother and cousin escaped unhurt in the incident.

“The van belonged to a private school in Vashi. There were no students onboard when the accident took place,” he said.

The driver Sachin Waghmade, 38, a resident of Kalamboli, fled with the vehicle after the accident.

“On Saturday we called him to the police station and arrested him once he reached. We have also seized the van,” Munde said.

The police have booked Waghmade under sections 279 and 304a of the Indian Penal Code and sections 184 and 134 of the Motor Vehicle Act. He will be produced before the court on Sunday.

“The driver was returning home after dropping the students at Kopar Khairane. We think, he lost control of the vehicle and hit the boy. This is not a case of drink driving,” Munde said.

The victim’s body was handed over to his family after postmortem. The post mortem reports are yet to come.

The driver was returning home after dropping the students at Kopar Khairane. We think, he lost control of the vehicle and hit the boy. This is not a case of drink driving. UMESH MUNDE, assistant inspector of Kopar Khairane police station