Mumbai: Allegedly blinded by the headlights of an oncoming vehicle being driven in the wrong direction, the driver of an SUV veered off a road in Wadala and ran over a woman and her 18-month-old son who were asleep on a footpath early on Sunday. The toddler, Vardhan, died of internal injuries and the mother, Priya Londhe (29), sustained a fracture to her shoulder.
The SUV driver, Kamal Vijay Riya (46), a Wadala resident, stayed at the accident site, called police and turned himself in.He was later released on bail. An officer from RAK Marg police station said his medical tests showed that he was not drunk.
Police said Kamal was driving back home after dinner with his parents, wife and child when he lost his control of the car. “He claimed that he suddenly took a sharp left when the headlights of a vehicle coming in the wrong direction blinded him. This resulted in him losing control and mounting the pavement, and before he could realise it, the SUV ran over the woman and the son,” said the officer. “We are investigating his statement.”
In her complaint, Priya said that she and Vardhan had gone to sleep just an hour prior to the accident. “I woke up in severe pain and discovered that I was unable to move. I later learned that a vehicle had run over us.” She said locals ran out of their huts on hearing her screams and rushed the two to a hospital, where Vardhan was declared dead.
Vardhan’s father, Nikhil, a food delivery agent who was working at the time of the tragedy, said the family had been forced to sleep on the footpath after their hut was demolished by BMC in a drive that’s reportedly been underway for over a year. “My five-year-old son, Swaroop, survived because he had gone to his grandmother’s house. I want justice and compensation for the loss of my child.”
An FIR was lodged against Kamal against BNS sections 106 (causing death by negligence), 125 (b) (act endangering the life or personal safety of others) and 281 (rash driving).