At least five people were killed while four others suffered injuries after the Maruti Ertiga SUV in which they were travelling towards Mumbai along the Mumbai-Pune expressway crashed into a moving trailer near Khopoli on Thursday around 11.30pm. Yogesh Bhosale, assistant police inspector of highway safety patrol informed that the fatal mishap occurred about 8km away from the Bhor Ghat traffic chowkie. The Ertiga SUV driver identified as Machindra Ambhore (40) was plying along the extreme left lane when he lost control over his wheels and crashed into an unidentified trailer ahead. The trailer driver sped away after the incident.
The deceased have been identified as Wasim Qazi (38), Abdul Khan (32), both Kurla residents, Anil Sanap (40) from Pune, Ashutosh Gaddkar (23) from Andheri and Rahul Pandey (30) from Kamothe. They were killed on the spot as they were declared brought dead when rushed in an ambulance to Khopoli civic hospital. Four people were severely injured and are admitted to MGM hospital, Kamothe. They have been identified as Amir Choudhary (35) from Kurla, Bhawarlal Khairlal (38) who hails from Rajasthan, Asaiya Choudhary (25) from Kurla and the SUV driver Machindra Ambhore.