Two young men were killed in separate heavy-vehicle crashes in Pune’s Kirkatwadi and Pirangut areas on Friday evening, October 16, while the drivers involved fled from both locations, according to a report by Lokmat – Pune. Police have registered a case in the Pirangut crash and are searching for the drivers.
The first fatal crash took place at around 5.30 pm on the Nanded Phata–Kirkatwadi road. Prathamesh Lokhande, 19, a resident of Gokulnagar in Narhe, was travelling towards Kirkatwadi on an Activa scooter when a dumper approaching from behind hit his two-wheeler. Lokhande died in the collision, and the dumper driver left the scene, the report said.
Police identified the dumper’s owner as Sunny Gulab Mandle, a resident of Mandalewada in Kirkatwadi. Lokhande’s body was sent to Sassoon Hospital for a post-mortem examination. Senior Police Inspector Atul Bhos of Nanded City Police Station is investigating the incident.
The second crash occurred at approximately the same time in the Pirangut Camp area on the Pune–Kolad highway. Tejas Ravidas Bhatkar, 20, was travelling on a motorcycle when a container travelling from Pune towards Paud hit the two-wheeler. The motorcycle fell onto the road and Bhatkar came under the container’s wheels.
Local residents took Bhatkar to a hospital with serious injuries, but doctors declared him dead during treatment. The container, bearing registration number MH 14 LB 4632, and the motorcycle, bearing registration number MH 12 YK 2132, were identified in the report. The container driver reportedly abandoned the vehicle and fled after the crash.
A case has been registered at Bavdhan Police Station in connection with the Pirangut incident, and further investigation is under way. The report did not identify either driver as having been arrested. Police teams are searching for the drivers involved in both crashes.
Police reached both accident sites after the incidents and helped restore traffic movement. The two crashes occurred on routes used by commuters travelling between Pune’s expanding suburban areas and surrounding settlements, although the supplied report did not provide details of traffic conditions, road design or the causes being examined by investigators. Further action will depend on the ongoing police investigations and identification of the drivers.
