Four young men were killed and three others were seriously injured when their Scorpio hit a truck from behind on a new six-lane flyover near Karad on the Pune-Bengaluru highway in Maharashtra's Satara district. The flyover was opened to traffic only a few days ago.
All the men had gone to the Mahalaxmi Devi temple in Kolhapur and were returning to their village in the Scorpio. The impact was so severe that the vehicle was badly damaged.
Seven friends were returning from Mahalaxmi temple
According to the information available, the young men are from Katarkhatav village in Khatav taluka of Satara district. They had gone to Kolhapur on the occasion of Dussehra to visit the Mahalaxmi temple. After the darshan, they were returning to their village in the Scorpio at night.
At around 11 pm, their vehicle hit a truck moving ahead of it from behind on the new six-lane flyover near Karad on the Pune-Bengaluru highway.
The front portion of the Scorpio was badly damaged. Four youths died on the spot and three others were seriously injured. The injured were immediately admitted to a private hospital in Karad, where they are undergoing treatment.
Four youths killed in the accident
The dead have been identified as Tejas Deshmukh (25), Sagar Nimbalkar (23), Suyash Chinchkar (20) and Rohit Dhotre (21). A preliminary inquiry has found that Tejas was driving the Scorpio at the time of the accident.
The injured are Rituraj Dubale (21), Shantanu Shingade (20) and Aman Tamboli (23). All three are being treated at a private hospital in Karad.
Reportedly the first serious accident on the new flyover
On receiving information about the accident, Karad DySP Rajashree Patil reached the spot with her team and began relief and rescue work. Local residents also helped the police in the rescue operation.
According to the information available, the new six-lane flyover near Karad was opened to traffic only a few days ago. This is reportedly the first very serious accident on it. Police are investigating the cause of the accident, and further action is under way.