KMP Expressway accident: How drive to Taj turned fatal for Polish tourist

Gurgaon: The driver of a truck, which broke down on KMP Expressway and triggered an early-morning pileup in which a Polish tourist was killed, has claimed he repeatedly called the highway emergency helpline and police, but got no response.Manjesh Singh told TOI he tried to raise help through 1033 and 112, and also attempted to warn oncoming traffic by waving his hands vigorously, but to no avail. Around 3am on Tuesday, Singh's truck developed a fault near Yadupur village in Palwal.
"After my truck broke down, I called the highway helpline 1033 at 3.29am, 3.32am and 3.49am, and dialled police on 112 at 3.18am. The pile-up occurred around 4am. I called the helplines again at 4.14am and 4.17am. Help, eventually, arrived around 4.30am," he said.According to Singh, he waved at the Swift Dzire carrying the Polish tourist and his co-traveller. But the car — coming from Manesar side — rammed him first, leaving him grievously injured, before crashing to the stationary truck from behind.Within minutes, Singh said, another truck ploughed into the Dzire from behind, crushing the car between the two heavy vehicles. Polish tourist Michal Majzik (29) and his driver Mohammad Nafis died before they could be taken to hospital. Majzik's co-traveller from Poland, Agnieszka Kacynel (27), suffered critical injuries and is being treated at AIIMS in Delhi.According to cops, the tourists had been picked up from a hotel in the city and were on their way to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal when the collision occurred.Singh said after responders arrived around 4.30am, the three occupants were pulled out of the mangled car."By the time help arrived, I had already lost consciousness. I was taken to Civil Hospital in Palwal, where arrangements were inadequate. Only basic bandaging was done without proper attention or pain relief. My family later shifted me to this private hospital," said the truck driver, who suffered fractures in both the legs and injuries to the head, chest and back.A case was registered under BNS sections 281 and 106 for rash driving and causing death by negligence. "A detailed investigation has been launched to establish the exact sequence of events and fix responsibility for the accidents," a police official said.Praveen Kumar, sub-divisional officer at Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC), which maintains the expressway, disputed allegations of negligence, but acknowledged possible communication gaps. He said a team had been deployed nearby to clear a traffic snarl caused by an earlier accident, which was resolved close to 4am."Calls made to the 1033 helpline are first routed to an NHAI central hub and then transferred to field teams based on GPS location, with escalation protocols if calls remain unanswered. My immediate field team received no such calls during the timeframe mentioned by the driver. Once the team was alerted about the fresh accident at 4.42am, they responded immediately to rescue the victims. We are examining call records and central logs to identify any breakdown in the communication chain," he added.