Wardha: 6 Dead In Truck-Car Collision On Samruddhi Expressway

Mumbai: In a horrific accident, six people were killed after a truck crashed into a car on the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway in Wardha district early on Monday.

According to police, the accident took place on the Samruddhi Mahamarg, a six-lane-expressway connecting Mumbai to Nagpur, at around 3 am. A truck carrying ethanol had met with an accident, resulting in fuel spill and traffic was subsequently diverted to the other lane. Amid this, a car travelling from Pune to Wardha was struck from behind by a speeding truck loaded with chilies. The car was crushed under the truck and the two vehicles were engulfed in flames.

The two vehicles caught fire and everyone on board – four members of a family travelling in a car, the truck driver and his helper – were charred to death.

The four occupants of a car were residents of Salod in Wardha, who were returning home after dropping one of their daughters to college in Pune for her MBA course. The victims have been identified as Rajesh Tiple, his wife Sushma Tiple, their daughter Jahnvi and their driver Ankush Raut. The other two victims are truck driver Sanjay Kumar and the cleaner Samarjit Pal.

Teams from the Highway Safety Patrol, Wardha Police, fire brigade, and the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation rushed to the spot for rescue and traffic restoration operations.

Teams from the Highway Safety Patrol, Wardha Police, fire brigade, and the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation rushed to the spot for rescue-and-traffic restoration operations. “Since the overturned container was carrying highly flammable ethanol, it was necessary to empty it first before its safe removal. The operation was under way with utmost caution to ensure public safety,” the police official said.

The 701-km six-lane access-controlled highway, which connects Nagpur to Mumbai, has been opened to traffic in phases since December 2022.