A four-year-old boy, who was playing on a road in the Wadala area of Mumbai, died after being hit by a speeding car. A 19-year-old youth was driving the speeding car. Police said Bhushan Gole was reversing his Hyundai Creta when the accident occurred. The driver did not leave the place and was arrested.
Prima facie, the driver was not under the influence of alcohol,” said a police official. Gole was arrested under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), and an investigation is underway. The family of the child resides on a footpath in the area, and the father works as a laborer.
This accident comes a week after a fatal bus crash in Kurla earlier this month, where a driver of a civic-run electric bus lost control, killing seven and injuring 42. More than 20 vehicles were also damaged. The driver, Sanjay More, was arrested and charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Maharashtra has been put in the red category as one of the highest in the road accident death rates in India. According to the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, between 2018 and 2022, the state had recorded 66,370 deaths, third only to Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. During the winter session of Parliament, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said that the death toll due to road accidents amounts to 1,78,000 people every year, with 60 percent of the deceased being in the age bracket of 18-34 years.
