Man escaped death by a whisker as he stepped away to buy tobacco moments before a cement mixer crushed his friends who were waiting by the roadside
Man escaped death by a whisker as he stepped away to buy tobacco moments before a cement mixer crushed his friends who were waiting by the roadside
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Who would imagine buying a packet of gutka from a street stall could save a man from sudden death? However, for Govandi resident Saif Ali, it was his lucky break as the moment he excused himself from two of his friends, a concrete truck rammed into the duo, killing them on the spot.
Collision course: Cops cordon off the area where a cement mixture truck
ran over two people and crashed into a store.
PICS/VINAY DALVI
The incident occurred yesterday when Ali, along with his two friends Shabid Razzaq Shaikh (22) and Ansar Nawaz, had gone for lunch to Ganesh Tiffins, a south Indian restaurant in Govandi.u00a0
After lunch, around 2.30 pm, they were chatting by the roadside on Deonar-Chembur road when Ali expressed his desire to buy gutka. His friends refused to accompany him to the paan shop and stood their ground, while Ali walked away to buy the gutka packet.
Suddenly, a concrete mixer truck went out of control and knocked the duo cold, before crashing into a nearby tours and travel shop.
Inspector S Thackeray of Deonar police station confirmed the incident and said, "When Ali went to fetch gutka for himself, Ansar and Shabid waited for him at the side of the road. A cement mixer that was heading to Chembur lost control on the flyover and knocked down Ansar and Shabid. It then hit an autorickshaw and crashed into Anchal Tours and Travels."
Thackeray added that fortunately there was no one in the rickshaw and the shop. Meanwhile, Ansar and Shabid were rushed to Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar where they were declared dead on arrival.
Authorities said that they arrested the truck driver Omprakash Pal (40) for rash and negligent driving. "Pal fled the spot fearing that he would be beaten up by the locals and later surrendered to us," Thackeray added.
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