Car crash claims lives of 3 returning from New Year’s celebration

A celebratory trip to Igatpuri for a New Year party took a devastating turn for a group of four Mumbai youths, aged between 20 and 24, when their luxury car collided with a truck on the Mumbai-Agra highway at approximately 4:45 am on Monday. The collision resulted in the deaths of three individuals and left another with severe head injuries.

The incident occurred at Bortembhe Phata in Igatpuri taluka. The victims were identified as 24-year-old Dhwaj Jain from Bhavani Shankar Road in Dadar West, 23-year-old Shikhar Yadava from Kokilaben Hospital Lane in Andheri West, and 23-year-old Rushabh Solanki from Lalbaug. Vansh Jain, a 20-year-old resident of Parel, sustained serious head injuries and is currently undergoing treatment. Authorities are still working to determine who was driving the car.

All four individuals were friends. Shahaji Umap, Nashik Rural SP, stated, “The accident occurred around 4:45 am. The four men were in a luxury car, traveling towards Mumbai when the vehicle collided with a truck from the rear. A motor accident case has been registered, and a thorough inquiry will precede further legal actions.”

Inspector Raju Surve from the Igatpuri police station, where the case is registered, explained, “It is believed that the victims had attended a party in Igatpuri and were returning to Mumbai when their car collided with the truck from behind. The impact was so severe that it resulted in the truck’s axle breaking, indicating high-speed involvement.”

Following the report of the accident, Igatpuri police transported the injured youths to Igatpuri Rural Hospital. Surve added that the truck driver is from Uttar Pradesh, even though the truck is registered in Dhule.

Dr. Pradeep Ingole, the medical superintendent of Igatpuri Rural Hospital, disclosed that the victims were brought to the rural hospital around 5:30 am. Three of them succumbed to multiple injuries, primarily head wounds, while the surviving victim with head injuries was referred to a hospital in Nashik city. Relatives of the deceased arrived at the rural hospital, and subsequently, the bodies were transported to Mumbai. In a separate incident, five individuals sustained serious injuries after an SUV they were traveling in collided with a stationary truck on the Eastern Express Highway in the Thane area early Monday morning.