3 dead, 6 injured in Bandra-Worli sea link accident: Asked him to stop but he sped away, was probably scared, say witnesses

Police said the incident took place at around 10.10 pm on Thursday.

The driver of the SUV Toyota Innova car (GJ05-CJ-4283) had initially collided with the railing of the bridge on his left, the police said, and then lost control of the vehicle, ramming into a Mercedes on the right, around 200 metres from the toll naka.

Scared of being beaten by the public, police said, he tried to flee at high speed due to which he allegedly ended up ramming into four other vehicles, including a taxi and a tempo stationed at the toll naka. A journalist travelling in the cab did not suffer injuries and also posted about the incident on X, formerly Twitter.
When he tried to speed off, a police officer said, people in other vehicles and onlookers asked him to stop, but he did not.

“The people who were injured said that they too were telling him to stop, as no one would harm him. But in panic, Sheikh sped away, unaware of the toll naka just ahead and rammed his car into other vehicles,” said Inspector Wilson Rodrigues of Bandra police station.

As per police officials, of the eight persons in the Innova at the time of the incident, three succumbed to their injuries—Khatija Suleiman Hatia (81), Hawagori Hanif Peer(55) and Mohammad Hanif Adam Peer (66). Hawagori was Hatia’s daughter and Mohammed was his son-in-law.

The injured persons have been identified as Hasim Suleman (Hatia’s brother), Hazra Samad, Bibi Yakub, Sarfaraz Mohammed Yusuf Shaikh (who was driving), Rajshri Sumeet Ghidiyal (56) critical Dave and Rakesh Vishwakarma.
“The three deceased and four others who were grievously injured were passengers in the Innova,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police Krishnkant Upadhyay (Zone IX).

Two persons — Ghidiyal, who is a yoga teacher and Vishwakarma—are being treated at Lilavati hospital while the other four are being treated at Bhabha hospital.

The DCP further said that it appeared Sheikh was fleeing after ramming into a Mercedes on the sea link, in the course of which he collided with four other cars at the toll naka.

People working at the toll naka and other motorists came forward to help the injured and rushed them to hospital.

Family on tour

The six members of the family travelling in the Innova are from Surat and Ankaleshwar and they had left Gujarat on November 3, to visit Mahabaleshwar. They had come to Mumbai two days ago. They were returning to Gujarat on Thursday night when they met with the accident, the police said.

Shaikh has been driving cars for years and has long been associated with the victim’s family. The family would always choose to employ Shaikh to drive them when they wished to travel, and would always book a vehicle from Shaikh’s employer, who has a car rental service.

Cause not clear

“We are trying to ascertain why Shaikh lost control over his car and dashed into the sea link railing… whether it was fatigue or lack of sleep or any other reason. We are yet to record his statement as he is still in shock and trauma,” inspector Rodrigues added.

“We have registered a case under section 304 (2), 337, 338, 427 of the Indian Penal Code and section 184 of the Motor Vehicle Act against the driver Sheikh. Once he is discharged from the hospital, he will be arrested in the case,” the officer said. Shaikh’s blood sample has also been collected to check if he was under the influence of alcohol or any substance.

We have also got CCTV footage of the incident, the officer added. A team from RTO will also examine the Innova to help police establish the sequence of events. Police are in process of taking Sheikh’s driving licence registration and car’s registration details from the RTO concerned in Gujarat.