Policemen inspect the damages to the car (MH-01-BK 99) at Gamdevi police station.
Pedder Road witnessed yet another accident late in the night when a luxury car rammed into two vehicles, an Audi and a Toyota Corolla, leading to a pile-up of vehicles opposite Prabhu Kunj building at Pedder Road. According to the police, around 1.30 am on Sunday, an Aston Martin Rapide, registered in the name of Reliance Ports, was being driven at high speed.
"The complainant Foram Ruparel, a resident of Ghatkopar and a student, was on her way towards Ghatkopar along with her friends in her Audi, when a speeding car rammed into their vehicle from behind. The incident took place when they had just crossed Kemps Corner and were headed towards Haji Ali," said Ravi Pawar, assistant police inspector of Gamdevi police station.
Due to the impact, Ruparel's Audi jumped the divider on the road and hit a private bus coming in from the opposite direction. The black Aston Martin, worth Rs 4 crore, then hit a Toyota Corolla (worth Rs 12 lakh) belonging to one Vikram Mishra. Four of Ruparel's friends were bruised in the accident. The Audi is worth approximately Rs 30 lakh.
"The Aston Martin (MH-01-BK-99) was going northwards. The car sped from the spot before one of its tyres came off. It then stood near TG Pavillion," said Pawar. Police claimed that the driver of the car managed to flee from the spot in another car that was just behind the luxury vehicle. "We are recording the statements of the complainant and the victims who had minor injuries.
We couldn't record their statements properly because they were in shock," said a police officer from Gamdevi police station. "We will also check CCTV footage. Only then will we be able to reach any conclusion," added the officer.
The Gamdevi police are also collecting CCTV footage from all junctions to find out who was driving the car. However, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) spokesman Tushar Pania told MiD DAY, "Yes, the car is owned by Reliance Ports and was being driven by one of our drivers, who was going to park it. We will cooperate with police investigations."
Eyewitness saysThe authorities have also seized the sports car left behind by the driver when he fled the spot. Santosh Mishra, who saw the driver of the Aston Martin hopping into the vehicle that was trailing the Aston Martin, claimed, "The person endangered the lives of others. When his tyre came off, he sat in the car that came from behind and was immediately escorted away." Mishra is the watchman of Vasundhara building on the same road. A case has been registered by the Gamdevi police under sections 279 (rash driving), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 134A and 134B of the Motor Vehicles Act.
Accident spotPedder Road had, only two weeks ago, witnessed another car accident ('Car mows down two BMC workers at Pedder Road,' November 28). Akshay Bajaj, a businessman from Worli, had driven into the scooter on which two BMC conservancy staffers were travelling to work early in the morning. While the pillion rider Laxmiben Makwana (56) died on the spot, the rider Prakash Parmar fought for his life in Jaslok Hospital for a week. He succumbed to critical brain injuries on December 5.