State cooperative minister Harshvardhan Patil and his wife had a close shave with death in the early hours of Sunday, after a tempo that was driving on the wrong side of the road collided head on with their car on the Pune-Baramati road.
Mr Patil and his wife are currently admitted to a private hospital in Pune.
According to the Baramati taluka police, the incident occurred at around 1.30 am on Sunday near the Medhad village.
“Mr Patil was travelling from Indapur to Pune in his car along with his wife Bhagyashri, personal assistant Ashok Gavas and driver-cum-bodyguard Shivaji Patil when a tempo, driven by Ashok Kanerkar crashed into the car. The tempo was on the wrong side of the road and the sudden flash of the tempo’s headlights on the car’s windshield blinded Shivaji, who could not swerve away in time. As a result, they collided headlong,” said an officer with the Baramati taluka police.
The collision caused the vehicle to skid out of control, and it came to a halt a few feet away from the spot of the accident. Miraculously, Shivaji and Mr Gavas suffered only minor injuries, and were able to call for help.