Five people, including two children, were killed and three people were seriously injured in an accident involving a head-on collision between a pickup truck and two bikes in Pune’s Junnar taluka late on Monday night. Though locals alleged that the truck driver Mayur Anand (25) was drunk at the time of the accident, the police denied this and said he had lost control of his vehicle.
The incident took place in Lavanwadi on the Nagar-Kalyan highway at around 10 pm on Monday, the police said. The people on the bikes were farm labourers, who were returning to their homes at Palashi Vankute in Parner taluka after completing farm work in Narayangaon.
The police identified the deceased as Sundarabai (28), Nitin Madhe (25), Gaurav Madhe (6) and Aryan Madhe (1). The name of one of the deceased is yet to be ascertained. Archana Madhe and Suhas Madhe, who were seriously injured, are undergoing treatment at a hospital, the police added.
“The victims on the bike were two families going to Parner on the Nagar side while the driver was travelling through the Kalyan route on the Nagar-Kalyan highway,” Mandar Jawale, DySP of Junnar subdivision, said. “Local residents have said that the driver of the pickup jeep was drunk. He was sober but he lost balance of the vehicle. He is a resident of Kalas village, Parner taluka,” he added.
