A 22-year-old woman died and her fellow passenger was seriously injured after their motorcycle collided with a stationary 18-wheeler container near the new Katraj tunnel on the Mumbai-Bengaluru Highway in Pune, police said. The collision took place at around 2.45 pm on Sunday, October 11.
The deceased was identified as Sakshi Amol Sawant, 22. Her fellow passenger, Renuka Balbhim Kamble, also 22, sustained serious injuries and is undergoing treatment at a private hospital, according to the police information cited in the report.
Police said the two women were travelling along the highway when the motorcycle struck the container parked near the tunnel. Both were seriously injured in the crash. They were taken to a private hospital after the accident, but doctors declared Sawant dead before treatment could begin.
The incident occurred near the new Katraj tunnel, a section of the Mumbai-Bengaluru Highway that carries regular passenger and commercial traffic through the southern approach to Pune. The collision has again drawn attention to the risks created when large commercial vehicles stop on or alongside a high-speed highway corridor, although the investigation into the exact circumstances is continuing.
A case has been registered against container driver Yogesh Nathnath Satpute, 35, a resident of Kauthali in Solapur district. Police constable Nagesh Koli filed the complaint at the Ambegaon police station. The police report states that the driver’s mistake emerged during the preliminary inquiry.
Senior Police Inspector Sharad Zhine visited the accident site after receiving information about the crash. The injured passenger was admitted to hospital, where she remains under treatment. Police have not provided further details in the supplied report about the condition of the motorcycle, the container’s position, road lighting, warning markers or whether any traffic-management breach was recorded at the site.
The case is being investigated by Assistant Police Inspector Firoz Mulani. The investigation will establish the precise sequence of events and the circumstances under which the container was stopped near the Katraj tunnel.
