A traffic policeman in Ambernath on the outskirts of Mumbai died Tuesday night when a truck rammed his two-wheeler and crushed one of his legs after he allegedly swerved to avoid a pothole on the road.
The accident happened around 9:15 pm when Sanjeev Patil (49) who was on duty, headed for a locality on his motorcycle to clear a traffic jam after receiving a telephone call. Outside the Ambernath police station on the Kalyan-Badlapur road, the truck hit his motorcycle from behind when he tried to avoid running into a pothole, locals said. As he fell on the road, the rear wheels of the truck ran over his left leg causing severe injuries.
He was rushed to the nearby Central hospital in Ulhasnagar where he was declared dead.
Locals blamed the potholed road as the cause of the accident.
“He was trying to avoid a pothole and lost balance and slowed his motorcycle and suddenly the truck from behind hit him. He fell down and the truck ran over his leg. He was bleeding severely,” said Yogesh Chalwadi, a social worker from Ambernath.
On Wednesday, his family took his body to their native place Jalgaon for final rites.
Police arrested the truck driver later in the night and registered a case.
“We have arrested the truck driver and are interrogating him. The road outside the police station has potholes. Due to the heavy downpour most of the roads in the city has developed potholes. There is no evidence on whether he lost balance due to a pothole as of now. We are investigating it,” said T. K Sawant, police sub inspector.
Mumbai and its suburbs have long battled potholes which claim a few lives every monsoon. Most victims have been two-wheeler riders.
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