A tragic accident occurred on Tuesday morning on the Gandhari Bridge over the Ulhas River in Kalyan, where a high-speed dumper collided with an auto-rickshaw coming from the opposite direction. The crash claimed the life of a 56-year-old woman and left her son, the rickshaw driver, seriously injured.
The deceased has been identified as Mangala Wankhede. Her son, Nilesh Wankhede (35), was driving the rickshaw from Padgha in Bhiwandi towards Kalyan when the accident occurred around 6:30 am. The dumper, heading from Kalyan, lost control, veered across lanes, and crashed into the rickshaw. The impact was so forceful that the dumper broke the bridge’s retaining wall and plunged into the river below.
According to police sources, the dumper driver, identified as Azam Ali from Thane, managed to jump out of the vehicle as it fell and swam to the riverbank. Initially, emergency responders, including fire department personnel, launched a search in the river, assuming the driver had drowned. However, Ali later surrendered to the police, admitting that he had dozed off at the wheel due to overnight driving, leading to the fatal mishap.
Ali reportedly contacted his employer after escaping the river, who advised him to turn himself in. He was subsequently arrested by the Padgha police.
Mangala Wankhede died on the spot. Her body was sent to Rukminibai Hospital for post-mortem examination. Her injured son was rushed to a private hospital for treatment.
Police investigations revealed that Ali had a prior record of involvement in road accidents. Authorities are now examining whether negligence or breach of transport safety norms contributed to the crash.
