2 from Mumbai, 3 from Goa die in highway mishap
At least five people were killed and several injured after a Maruti SX 4 car met with an accident on National Highway 4 on the afternoon of Monday. The car was speeding along NH 4 from Mumbai and two of the dead are believed to be from the city. The other three are from Goa.
At around 4 pm, as the car was proceeding from Ponda towards Goa, it first hit pedestrians, injuring several people standing along the road. It then swerved and hit a container truck coming from the opposite direction. Such was the impact that the front of the car collapsed, killing all its occupants.
The driver of the truck immediately fled the scene.
Police arrived on the scene and pulled out the occupants of the Maruti car. Three of them are residents of Goa while two are from Mumbai. They have been identified as Ida Queroz (55), Luis Menezes (48), Natalie Pereira (55), Vrushali Bhoir (35), and Manashri Bhoir (4). Police said the man behind the wheels of the Maruti was 38year-old Shanal Pereira.
As the accident happened in front of the Malik petrol station, the police have studied the CCTV footage of the mishap and preliminary probe reveals that the car was travelling at a very high speed and lost control as it tried to negotiate a crowd gathered at a bus stop.
Bodies of the dead have been preserved at the GMC morgue in Bambolim. The injured are being treated at a local hospital in Bambolim.