In yet another head-on collision between two vehicles due to the absence of a road divider on a national highway in the Amravati district, five persons were killed and 13 others injured after a private jeep crashed into a Tata tempo on Sunday night.
According to the Anjangaon police, the accident took place at around 8 pm on the Anjangaon-Akot road, about a kilometre ahead of Lakhad-
phata. The tempo was moving from Anjangaon to Akot and the jeep was moving from Akot to Anjangaon.
The tempo was carrying around 15 persons, who were on their way back home to Shegaon in the Buldhana district after attending a marriage. The jeep driver had taken a licence to ferry passengers and about nine persons were travelling in it when the incident occurred.
“The accident took place on a curve. There is no divider on the road and both the vehicles were speeding. While taking a turn they could not apply brakes in time and collided with each other,” said investigating officer, sub-inspector, B.L. Pawar of Anjangaon police station.
“Five persons, including two women, travelling in the jeep were killed and 13 others in the tempo suffered injuries. As of now, we have booked both the drivers for causing death due to negligence under Section 304 A of the IPC as prima facie, it seems both have been negligent. Further probe is underway,” added Mr Pawar.
The police has also established that the jeep’s driver, Hakimuddin Saiffuddin (30) was not drunk. He was released on bail by a magistrate’s court on Monday.
However, the driver of the tempo, Ravi Raut fled from the spot. He was traced later, but the police could not establish whether he was drunk at the time of the accident.