Housewife hones up driving skills, kills Borivli auto driver

Mumbai: An autorickshaw driver was killed after a 46-year-old woman practicing her driving skills rammed her Hyundaii10 into his three-wheeler in Borivli (W) on Thursday. NeetaPurohit, a housewife, had to be hospitalized with injuries. The police said she stepped on her car's accelerator instead of the brakes and also hit a school bus.
Rajendra Maurya, who drove autos for 35 years, ferried school children from IC Colony every morning, resided at Eksar Dongri in Borivli.Purohit, who resides at IC Colony, holds a permanent driver's licence. The police said she, out of practice for sometime, had got Mohammad Yunus to help her hone up her skills.
Purohit was driving from IC Colony towards Dahisar at 7.15am, while Maurya was coming from the opposite direction with no passengers. "Purohit, driving at a speed of 70-80 kmph, hit the auto, which fell over to one side due to the impact. She then rammed into the bus I was driving," said Santosh Mohite. A portion of the bus that Mohite was driving got damaged but there were no children inside.
The car came to a halt but was badly damaged and Purohit was stuck inside. "The door next to Purohit's seat wasn't opening. We had to open the rear door and pull back her seat to extricate her. She had injured her chin and jaw. We informed the police and Purohit was taken to Bhagwati Hospital," Mohite said.
The police had great difficulty extricating Maurya from his mangled auto.
He had broken his legs and died on the spot. His body was sent to the Borivali post-mortem centre for autopsy.
"I took control of the car twice on Thursday morning, after Purohit told me the brakes weren't working. When I noticed that she was about to hit an auto, I grabbed the hand-brakes, but she swerved the steering wheel and the hand-brake slipped out of my grip," said Yunus, who was also injured. The police have recorded the statements of Mohite and Yunus.
Purohit, booked under section 304 (A) of the IPC for negligence, will be arrested once discharged.