Three cousins were killed after a truck allegedly travelling at high speed collided head-on with their hatchback on the narrow Girna river bridge near Bambhori village in Jalgaon on Sunday night, with police registering a case against the truck driver who reportedly fled the scene.
The deceased were identified as Pankaj Chaudhary, 28, Harish Chaudhary, 29, and Ravindra Chaudhary, 33. All three were residents of Zurkheda village in Dharangaon taluka. They were travelling in a hatchback after attending a religious feast in Vanoli village in Yawal taluka.
Assistant inspector Nayan Patil of Jalgaon Taluka police station said the group comprised eight relatives and close friends who had travelled in two vehicles. They left Zurkheda at about 4pm, reached Vanoli by 6pm and began their return journey around 7.30pm.
According to the complaint lodged by Sushil Chaudhary, a medical representative and relative of the victims, Pankaj was driving a borrowed hatchback carrying Harish and Ravindra. Sushil was driving a sedan with four other passengers immediately behind them.
The hatchback had just climbed the bridge over the Girna river at around 9pm when a truck approaching from the opposite direction allegedly veered into its path and crashed into it. The force of the collision mangled the car and trapped all three occupants inside.
Sushil, who witnessed the crash from the vehicle behind, rushed to the wreckage. With help from bystanders, he pulled the three men out and arranged for an ambulance to take them to Jalgaon civil hospital. Doctors declared all three dead on arrival, police said.
The truck driver allegedly continued ahead after the collision before stopping the vehicle by the roadside and fleeing. Police registered a case against Anupam Prajapati, a resident of Budhanpur in Uttar Pradesh’s Azamgarh district, under sections 105, 281 and 125 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with other relevant provisions of the law and the Motor Vehicles Act.
Section 105 relates to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, while section 281 concerns rash driving or riding on a public way. Section 125 covers acts endangering the life or personal safety of others.
In his complaint, Sushil described the Girna bridge as narrow and said vehicles need to cross it slowly and carefully. He alleged that the truck driver was speeding and had disregarded the safety of other road users. The allegation remains part of the police case.
The crash has drawn attention to the risks faced by vehicles using the bridge, where opposing traffic must negotiate limited road space. The available police account does not specify the bridge’s width, whether traffic-control measures were in place, or whether any previous accidents had been recorded at the location.
Police have registered the case and the investigation is continuing. The next steps include establishing the sequence of the collision, locating the driver and examining the circumstances under which the truck entered the hatchback’s path.
