A BMW convertible carrying three friends crashed on an under-construction stretch of the Mumbai-Vadodara Highway near Badlapur in the early hours of Sunday, killing two occupants and critically injuring a third.
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Police said the vehicle was allegedly travelling at speeds of up to 251 kmph before it hit a divider and overturned multiple times.
The accident occurred around 2.30 am on Sunday when the luxury sports car, carrying three friends, crashed into a divider and overturned multiple times.
The force of the impact was so severe that the vehicle was destroyed beyond recognition, while the occupants were thrown out of the open-top car, earlier HT reported.
Birthday outing ends in tragedy
The deceased have been identified as Yogesh Kishan Negi, 26, a resident of Badlapur, and Rebecca Babu Jacob, 22, from Bandra. The sole survivor, Angad Gill, 24, who is also from Badlapur, remains in the intensive care unit of a hospital in Kalyan with serious injuries.
Also read | Two dead, 1 injured after BMW crashes at 251 kmph on unopened Badlapur hwy
According to investigators, the trio had gone out to celebrate Negi’s birthday and were returning home when the accident took place near Eranjad in Badlapur.
Police believe the group had already driven several rounds on the highway before the crash and was travelling from Panvel towards Titwala when control over the vehicle was lost.
What does video shows?
A video that has gone viral on social media, purportedly recorded inside the car moments before the crash, appears to show the speedometer touching 251 kmph.
Key details from the investigation so far:
- The BMW convertible was allegedly travelling at speeds touching 251 kmph.
- The vehicle struck a divider on an under-construction section of the Mumbai-Vadodara Highway.
- The car overturned several times before coming to a halt.
- The convertible’s open roof meant the occupants were ejected from the vehicle during the crash.
- The bodies of the deceased were found nearly 500 metres away from the impact site.
- Severed body parts were scattered across a distance of 50 to 100 metres.
- Police have not yet established who was behind the wheel.
Who was driving?
One of the key questions investigators are attempting to answer is who was driving the BMW at the time of the accident.
Also read | BMW at 251 kmph crashes near Maharashtra’s Badlapur; 2 killed, body parts scattered over 500 metres
The vehicle is registered in the name of Gill’s father, who operates a manufacturing business in Badlapur. However, police said they have not yet been able to conclusively determine who was at the wheel when the crash occurred.
Police suspect speed and poor visibility
According to the initial investigation, the driver may have lost control while travelling at extremely high speed in darkness on a road that is still under construction.
Investigators suspect the divider may not have been noticed in time. Although there are indications that brakes were applied before impact, the speed of the vehicle appears to have left little room for recovery.
Senior Police Inspector Kishore Shinde of Badlapur West police station said the open-top nature of the vehicle contributed significantly to the severity of the injuries.
“Since the car was a convertible with its hood open, the occupants were thrown out upon impact, leading to fatal injuries. We still do not know who was driving the vehicle at the time of the accident. The family members are in no condition to speak and we are waiting to record their statements,” said Shinde.
Questions over access to unopened highway
The accident has also raised questions about how the group entered a section of highway that has not yet been opened for public use.
According to police, the ten-lane stretch where the crash occurred remains under construction and is not operational.
“The ten-lane highway is not operational. Because of the wide carriageway, the youths appear to have driven at very high speed. There are no street lights on the stretch and they may not have noticed the divider in time. Though they applied the brakes, the vehicle collided with the divider and the force of the impact threw the occupants nearly 500 metres away,” said Shinde as per a report earlier published by HT.
Authorities are now investigating the circumstances under which the vehicle gained access to the unopened section of the Mumbai-Vadodara Highway, even as efforts continue to establish exactly what happened in the final seconds before one of the state’s most horrific road accidents in recent memory.
