Pune: In a horrific incident, two toddlers and a man were crushed to death when a speeding dumper mowed nine pavement dwellers here on Monday.
The police said the incident happened around 1 am at Wagholi near the Kesnand Phata when a dumper of a private company from Pune veered onto the footpath and ran over the people, all labourers sleeping in shanties there.
At least three persons, including two minors and another man, were killed instantly while six others were seriously injured in the mishap. The truck driver, identified as Gajanan Totre (26), was arrested after the incident and his medical test was being done to ascertain if he was driving under the influence of alcohol, an official said.
The victims have been identified as: One-year-old Vaibhavi Pawar, her two-year-old brother Vaibhav Pawar, and Vishal Pawar (22). They were all sleeping beside each other when the tragedy hit them. Six others - Janki Pawar (21), Rinisha Pawar (18), Roshan Bhosale (9), Nagesh Pawar (27), Darshan Vairal (18) and Aalisha Pawar (47) - were admitted to the Sassoon General Hospital.
According to locals, around a dozen workers had arrived here from Amravati on Sunday to work as labourers in different construction sites in the region. Local police and officials have launched a probe into the exact causes of the disaster as initial reports suggest that the driver was purportedly in a drunken state, said locals who rushed there to help the victims.
The accident site was an eerie scene with bodies of the victims and injured, blood splattered all around, and the bare belongings, clothes or utensils of the labourers strewn in the vicinity, resembling a war zone.
Later, the police arranged to move the dumper, completed the relevant formalities and cleared the footpath, said the locals, as people vented their angst on social media.
Pune Additional Commissioner of Police (East Region) Manoj Patil said the truck driver lost control over the wheels near Wagholi police station and rammed his vehicle into several people sleeping on the footpath at 12.55 am.
"Prima facie, the people who were injured and died were labourers and their family members from Amravati district. They came to Pune just two days ago in search of jobs," he said.
"We arrested the truck driver from the spot. We are also probing other facts of the accident. A case has been registered against the truck driver under all relevant sections. A medical test is underway to verify if he was drunk when the accident took place," the official said. (Agency inputs)
Read More
5 killed in Bihar Road Rage, Drunk Pickup Van Driver Runs Over 11 People
