Police suspect vital safety device caused neck injury that killed computer engineer in Jan 25 Borivali crash; according to the police, he reportedly lost control of the vehicle, which rammed into the corner of a road divider.
The car that was damaged after it hit a road divider near Gorai bus depot
Seat belts are universally regarded as lifesaving devices, credited with preventing thousands of deaths every year. However, in an extremely rare incident in Borivali, a seat belt itself is suspected to have caused the death of a young motorist. The accident occurred around 11.30 pm on January 25 near the Gorai bus depot, when a 27-year-old computer engineer was driving from Gorai jetty towards Link Road. According to the police, he reportedly lost control of the vehicle, which rammed into the corner of a road divider.
Eyewitnesses said the impact was severe, causing the car to rebound nearly six feet backwards after hitting the divider. The collision triggered the deployment of airbags, filling the vehicle cabin with smoke-like residue.
Eyewitness Vivek Yadav points to the deployed airbag inside the car following the crash
Eyewitness account
Vivek Yadav, 31, an autorickshaw driver who witnessed the crash, told mid-day that he was ferrying passengers towards Gorai when he heard a loud bang.
“I immediately stopped my auto and ran towards the car. The driver’s side door was locked, but I forced it open. The man was badly injured and bleeding profusely,” Yadav said.
The seat belt inside the vehicle, which police suspect caused the fatal neck injury to the driver during the crash. Pics/Nimesh Dave
Initially, he believed the bleeding was due to a head injury. “But someone pointed out that the blood was coming from his neck. When I looked closely, I saw a deep wound just below the chin,” he recalled.
Yadav said the victim was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. With the help of bystanders, he unfastened the belt, lifted the injured man into his auto, picked up his mobile phone from the car, and rushed him to Sailee Hospital.
The spot near the Gorai bus depot in Borivli, where the Honda City rammed into a road divider
“Whenever he tried to breathe or speak, the bleeding became worse,” Yadav said.
During the journey, calls started coming in on the victim’s phone. “I informed the callers that there had been an accident and asked them to reach Sailee Hospital immediately,” he added.
Doctors at Sailee Hospital referred the victim to a larger medical facility. By then, his friends and family had arrived and shifted him to another hospital.
Yadav later learned that the young man had succumbed to his injuries.
“I was extremely saddened. I truly believed he would survive,” he said, adding that he refused monetary assistance offered by the family. “I told them that his recovery was all I wished for.”
Seat belt caused injury
Preliminary police investigations suggest that the violent impact caused the victim’s body to lurch forward suddenly. Investigators suspect that the side portion of the seat belt moved forcefully and cut into his neck, inflicting a fatal wound.
A police officer said the injury below the chin measured approximately seven centimetres in length and nearly three centimetres in depth.
Post-mortem findings
According to the post-mortem report, the cause of death was asphyxia, or suffocation, after the seat belt became tightly entangled around the victim’s neck.
Sources at the post-mortem centre said the belt exerted intense pressure on the neck, damaging the windpipe. Blood was found oozing from below the chin, and the injury led to a gradual drop in oxygen levels. The victim reportedly succumbed one to two hours after the accident.
Doctors also indicated that the injuries could have resulted from seat belt friction or the impact of the crash, which threw the victim against the steering wheel.
However, they clearly confirmed that the cause of death was the seat belt itself, which became entangled around the victim’s neck at the time of the collision.
Corporator recounts incident
Local corporator Shiva Shetty told mid-day that he happened to pass the spot shortly after the accident and rushed to assist. “By the time I reached, the injured man had already been taken to the hospital. With the help of others, I moved the damaged car to the side near the bus depot gate and then went to Sailee Hospital,” Shetty said.
He added that doctors advised shifting the victim to a larger hospital, including Kokilaben Hospital, but due to his critical condition, he was eventually taken to Lotus Hospital by ambulance.
“I am deeply shocked. A seat belt, which is meant to save lives, became the cause of death. I will write to the government and automobile manufacturers, urging them to make seat belts safer so that such incidents are not repeated,” Shetty said.
ADR registered
Police have registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR), and further investigation is underway.
“This is the first time we have come across a case where a seat belt itself is suspected to have caused a fatal injury,” a police officer said.
Senior Inspector Madhusudan Nayak of Borivali police station confirmed the registration of the ADR. PSI Prashant Malvade is conducting further investigation.
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