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Mumbai: Journalist and historian, Dhaval Kulkarni, and his 11-year-old daughter faced a “near death experience” on the Mumbai-Pune express highway on November 19 after their cab crashed into a truck. Despite the driver boasting a seemingly commendable rating of 4.93, signs of fatigue and risky driving behavior, including yawning and erratic lane changes, became evident. This accident happened in Khopoli because the Uber truck was standing on the highway and collided with the truck.
The man narrated his ordeal on social media. The person and his daughter sustained minor injuries in this incident. The truck driver fled from the spot after the accident. A police team reached the spot and rescued the father and daughter and took them to the nearby MGM Hospital near Kamothe, where they were admitted and treated for their injuries.
The cab driver was talking on the phone, according to Kulkarni, who narrated the horrifying experience on social media. Kulkarni also said that the first group of officers to reach the accident site did not immediately call for help and they had to reach out to their personal contacts to get some assistance.
Dhawal Kulkarni took to X to share his ordeal and urged the authorities and taxi aggregator Uber, on whose platform he ordered the cab, to take immediate action to ensure road safety.The journalist said that he was in Pune to pick up his daughter and the two had planned to go to Mumbai by train.
However, he booked an Uber cab as his train tickets were waitlisted. The accident occurred near Khopoli around 3.30 pm on Sunday when the Uber vehicle collided with a parked truck on the Mumbai-Pune Express Highway.
Kulkarni said that before the accident occurred, the cab driver was talking on the phone while driving, yawning and driving recklessly.I engaged him in small talk to keep him awake. As soon as we came down from the ghat and reached Khopoli, there was a heavy collision with a truck in the middle of the way. Even when I yelled at him to be careful, our car collided with the back of the truck.
Kulkarni said,“The air bag activated and hit my chest. I was stunned and in great pain from the impact, but I instinctively looked towards the back seat to see my daughter. She was nervous but remained calm,” The truck driver ran away without checking the three. Kulkarni’s daughter sustained injuries to her right leg, while he himself was in “tremendous pain” after the accident.
