Senior citizen dies, six injured in mini-bus crash on Mumbai-Pune Expressway

A 67-year-old man died and six people were injured when a mini-bus crashed into a stationary bus on Sunday on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway at Kamothe in Navi Mumbai.

Kamrul Islam, a religious leader with Shura Tablighi Jamaat, was travelling in the mini-bus with five other members of his community when the accident took place.

According to the Kamothe police, the driver of the vehicle Vaghesha Ramchandrappa, 28, was ferrying the six people from Shivamogga in Karnataka with a pass to Ahmedabad --- the group’s hometown.

“Around 12.30pm, Ramchandrappa lost control of the vehicle after he dozed off at the wheel and crashed into the stationary bus. All of them who were travelling in the vehicle had tested negative for Covid-19,” said Anil Patil, sub-inspector at Kamothe police station.

The private stationary bus had broken down and was parked along the lane when the driver crashed into it, said the police. Ramchandrappa has been booked for causing death due to negligence and rash and negligent driving under Indian Penal Code.

The occupants of the vehicle were rushed to MGM Kamothe Hospital where Islam was declared dead. Others have sustained minor injuries, said the police.