Speeding cruiser mows down six; four teachers critically injured

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

A drunk driver rammed his speeding Cruiser into six people near Ranjangaon-Jogeshwari road, Waluj around 4.30 pm on Thursday, leaving four female Zilla Parishad teachers critically injured.

The vehicle (MH-13-AC-9589) also crashed into several vehicles during its reckless run through the industrial zone. The accused, Sanjay Kadam (40) of Jogeshwari, was found intoxicated. He first struck an auto-rickshaw (MH 20 DC 1663) carrying the four teachers Gayabai Shirwat, Aparna Nimborikar, Kavita Nandan, and Sujata Shingade overturning it on the spot. Shingade suffered a serious leg injury requiring surgery, while Nimborikar received seven stitches near her eye. Both are undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Bajajnagar. The rickshaw driver sustained minor injuries. Another Cruiser (MH-22-U-3307) was damaged, along with multiple two- and four-wheelers, as per eyewitnesses. One of the bystanders, 70-year-old ragpicker Prayagbai Vaidya, narrowly escaped. “The Cruiser came at us like a storm. I thought I’d die,” she recounted with tears. Waluj MIDC police and traffic personnel reached the scene swiftly and detained Kadam. His family, already distressed by his drunken behaviour, told police he had assaulted them the night before. Citizens and victims have demanded strict legal action. Police continue their investigation.