Mumbai: Man bleeds to death as auto skids on Mrinal Gore flyover

Just two months after it was opened the Mrinal Gore flyover in Goregaon witnessed a deadly accident yesterday after an auto rickshaw driver lost control of his vehicle on the wet slippery road One of the passengers ndash a 58yearold man ndash lost his life after another vehicle rammed into the auto from behind and knocked it on its sideAlso Read Dear Mumbaikar dont die at these five spots in the cityOne of the passengers in the auto 58yearold Deepak Panchal lost his life after the vehicle began to skid on the slippery road and a Hyundai i10 crashed into it from behind PicRanjeet JadhavSkidding is a major threat during the monsoon particularly on new roads and flyovers Despite this the auto driver was speeding on the flyover There were three passengers at the back mdash Deepak Panchal 58 his wife Aruna and sisterinlaw Ketki were returning home from Malad E when the accident took place around 130 pmRead Story Tragic A year after tanker crushes cop daughter dies in similar accidentAn eyewitness said the auto was plying on the eastbound arm when it suddenly began to skid Unable to control the auto at high speed the driver braked suddenly and started to lose balance Right behind was another speeding vehicle mdash a Hyundai i10 mdash that rammed straight into the rickshaw The impact caused the auto to swing by 180 degrees so it was facing the oncoming traffic before it finally fell on its sideThe car behind was also speeding and rammed straight into the auto and continued to skid till it hit the barrierThe male passenger fell out of the auto and landed right on his head Other motorists stopped and called the emergency services when they saw him bleeding profusely However they alleged that it took half an hour for the police 108 ambulance and traffic cops to arrive By that time the auto driver had fledAlso Read Entire family of 6 driver die as car collides headon with bus in PuneWithin 10 minutes of the accident two of Panchalrsquos relatives arrived on the spot on their bikeldquoI saw my uncle was bleeding and so we tried getting helprdquo said the relative But when the ambulance arrived a doctor from the 108 services declared Panchal dead108 not for the deadAccording to eyewitnesses the 108 ambulance refused to take the patient to a nearby hospital despite the familyrsquos pleas to take him to Balasaheb Thackeray trauma center ldquoWe donrsquot take dead bodies is what the doctor had saidrdquo said the relativeLater the body had to be transported in the police vanWhen midday contacted Dr Amol Pandit the Mumbai district manager for the 108 services he refused to speak and asked the reporter to contact the head office in Pune insteadAnother senior officer who is responsible for 108 emergency services said ldquoWe function only for emergency calls So if a patient is declared dead after examination by a doctor from 108 they can refuse to take the body to hospital In such cases general ambulances are called to transport the body This is our protocol mdash we donrsquot take dead bodiesrdquoHowever the director of health services Mohan Jhadav said ldquoA doctor present in 108 can declare a patient dead But whether the patient is dead or alive he needs to be taken to the nearest hospital We will look into the matterrdquoMeanwhile the cops have arrested the man behind the wheel in the i10 car Mukesh Saha Such was the carrsquos speed that even after ramming into the auto it continued to skid till it slammed into the barrierPSI Udhav Bhutkar of Vanrai police station confirmed that an FIR had been filed against him while the cops are still looking for the auto driver