Pune: Pickup and Car Collision on Otur-Narayangaon Road Leaves 20 Injured, Including School Children
Otur, Junnar – A serious road accident occurred on Friday morning (February 7) at around 9:30 AM on the Otur-Narayangaon road near Dholwad Phata. A pickup truck and a car collided head-on, leaving 20 people injured, including school children and parents.
Details of the Accident
According to the Otur police, the accident took place when a pickup vehicle (MH 14 GU 1566) traveling from Otur to Narayangaon collided head-on with a Fiat Linea car (MH 12 GF 0860) coming from the opposite direction. The pickup was carrying school students and parents from Alu village in Junnar Taluka, who were on their way to Khodad for a school supply distribution program.
List of Injured
Among the injured are several school students and adults:
Pickup Truck Passengers
- Students: Eshwari Mohan Bokad (8), Yash Pandit Ghadge (7), Sarthak Prakash Salve (8), Rishi Rajendra Bhale (8), Kunal Bhagwan Lohkare (7), Sarvesh Popat Bokad (7), Shreya Bhavik Dhotre (8), Shivansh Sudhir Saste (8), Aditya Sampat Talpe (9)
- Adults: Meena Bhagwan Lohkare (23), Prakash Kacharu Salve (39), Vitthal Rakhma Ghadge (70), Kalpana Bhimrao Dhotre (50), Sudhir Jagan Saste (42) – all residents of Alu, Junnar
- Pickup Driver: Arvind Babanrao Hande (55), from Pimpalgaon Joga, Junnar
Car Passengers
- Driver: Harsh Dinesh Shah (24), Adinath Society, Pune
- Passengers: Rugved Yuvraj Pusadkar (22), Pune; Himanshu Kishor Pandey, Narhe, Pune; Suraj Santosh More (26), Dhankawadi, Pune; Pratik Dungule, Pune
Medical Treatment
The injured were immediately rushed to Niramay Hospital, Otur, with the help of local residents and the police. Three of the critically injured were later shifted to Pune, Alephata, and Narayangaon for advanced treatment.
Police Investigation and Traffic Management
Otur Police Station, under the guidance of Assistant Police Inspector Lahu Thate, has launched an investigation into the cause of the accident. The damaged vehicles were removed from the road to restore normal traffic flow.
This tragic accident highlights the need for increased road safety measures on the Otur-Narayangaon stretch, which witnesses frequent vehicular movement, including school transport.
