Car crashes on Freeway rail near Wadala, close shave for occupants

MUMBAI: Twenty-three-year-old Mausam Kawad and his driver were fortunate to have escaped with minimum bruises in one of the worst accidents on the Eastern Express Freeway, early on Monday morning. Kawad, son of a senior National Congress Party (NCP) leader contesting the Ahmednagar local body election was on his way to that city when the accident took place.
While Kawad’s leg was fractured, his driver Azaad Khan was unhurt though their car crashed into the divider and a 10-feet part of the railing went through the car (in pic). Kawad is recuperating at Bombay Hospital.
Kawad, who stays in Colaba, along with his driver and another domestic help left in their car for Ahmednagar on Monday morning by the Freeway. Around 8.30am they reached Bhakti Park junction when the driver lost control of the vehicle on an uneven slope, and rammed into the railing. Sources said motorists experience a thud on the Freeway near Bhatki Park, due to the slope.
“The car may have been at a speed of 120 kmph or more. It rammed into the railing and spun around three to four times. A huge portion of the railing got stuck in it from the rear and a 20-meter part of the railing was uprooted. The front wheel broke and the engine was damaged. A passerby helped take the car’s occupants to hospital,” said a local.
The mishap affected traffic on both sides of the Freeway for an hour until the vehicle was removed. Wadala Truck Terminal police said it was one of the worst accidents in recent times on the Freeway. “We are surprised the car’s occupants survived. It’s sheer luck,” said an officer. Kawad was carrying pamphlets of his father Prabhakar Narayan Kawad, who is contesting the zilla parishad elections in Ahmednagar. Sushil Kamble, senior inspector of Wadala said several letters to the MMRDA, asking it to correct that stretch of the road, received no response.