1 dead as biker crashes into crowd
6 injured as 17-year-old speeding biker lost control of 2-wheeler and ran over 7 people near Park Udyaan bridge
MUMBAI: A 17-year-old speeding biker lost control of his two-wheeler on Wednesday and crashed into seven people, leading to the death of a 55-yearold woman. The police said that the victims were all pavement dwellers and the juvenile hit them near Park Udyaan bridge at Matunga. The police added that the accused did not hold a valid driving licence.
He was arrested and produced before the juvenile justice board, and later released on bail.
The accident took place around 8:30pm when the 17-yearold, a resident of Garib Nawaz slums at Antop Hill, lost control of his Bajaj Pulsar (MH-01AY-2850).
The Matunga police said that he was riding at a very high speed when he lost control and climbed on to the pavement, hitting the pavement dwellers while they were eating food. The woman who died was identified as Shanta Waghela. She succumbed to severe head injuries at KEM Hospital.
The six other injured include a three-year-old, a 9-year-old boy and an 8-year-old boy, two of whom are said to be severely injured. The biker, who sustained injuries to his leg, was released from Sion Hospital early on Thursday. The accused used to work in a shop at Antop Hill, but is currently unemployed, police said.
“After the accused claimed that he was a minor, we searched his house and found a schoolleaving certificate, which confirmed that he was a juvenile. We are recording the statements of eye witnesses and locals to ascertain if he was performing stunts. However, nothing of the sort has come to the fore yet,” said RM Thakur, senior inspector of the Matunga police station.
The police have registered a case against him under sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way), 337, 338 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the IPC and appropriate sections of the Motor Vehicle Act. A medical test revealed that he was not drunk at the time of the incident. MUMBAI: Slum dwellers living near Park Udyaan bridge in Matunga claimed that the 17-yearold biker who crashed into the pavement, killing one and leaving six others injured on Wednesday, was performing stunts on the Wadala bridge. Locals said that “speeding bikers are a common nuisance in the area”. Matunga police, however, denied this and stated that the juvenile lost control of his bike.
Aslam Sayyed, a pavement dweller, said that road no. 16 was popular among stunt-performing bikers. “Almost every day, groups of bikers ride along this road. There seems to be no deterrent to them. It endangers their lives as well as ours.”
Another local said that the bikers perform stunts and take sharp turns at night when there is minimal traffic along the bridge. Locals said that the footpath houses around 60 families and bikers pose a threat to them.
They added that the biker who caused the accident was performing stunts when he crashed into Shanta Waghela, 55. “He was performing a wheelie along the north-bound stretch. I was sitting with my friends when I heard a loud thud. When we rushed to see what happened, Waghela was lying on the road,” said Sayyed.
According to locals, three children were seated at the edge of the footpath along with three women. The biker kept speeding even after hitting Waghela. “It caused a woman’s death and two children are battling for their lives,” said Ranjit Chekhalia, a local. A few locals took the injured to hospital while others caught hold of the biker.