3 killed as car rams into motorcycle & hits truck

PUNE: Three men died and one woman was injured after a speeding car hit a motorcycle, crossed over the median to the other side of the road and collided head-on with a truck on Indapur bypass, off Pune-Solapur highway, around 9am on Monday.
Two of the deceased, who were travelling in the car, include Dashrath Madhusudhan Shukla (60) from Karvenagar and Ratnakar Jitkar (65) from Chatushrungi.The motorcycle rider, Dashrath Trimbak Phadtare (50) from Satara, died on the spot.
Surekha Shinde, who was riding pillion on the motorcycle, was severely injured and is undergoing treatment in a private hospital.
The car driver, Shamrao, (full name not known) was uninjured and fled the spot.
Inspector Madhav Shinde, in charge of the Indapur police station, said, "Shukla and Jitkar were travelling from Pune to Solapur. When their car reached Malojiraje Bhosale Chowk, the driver lost control over the vehicle after the motorcycle suddenly came in front of them."
The car first hit the motorcycle, then crossed over the median to the opposite lane. "It collided head-on with a cement-laden truck which was travelling towards Pune from Tembhurne in Solapur district," Shinde said.
The incident threw traffic out of gear for over an hour. Traffic was restored to normalcy after the vehicles involved in the accident were towed to the side of the road. "We have registered a case against the driver under sections of the Indian Penal Code and Motor Vehicles Act," Shinde added.
Shukla and Jitkar were businessmen in the chemicals industry and were on their way to Solapur for some work.