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Journalism of Courage
On September 20, 2024, Anupama Singh was returning from Mumbai to Pune when her car entered a tunnel on the expressway before the last toll point at around 2.45 pm. The next thing she remembers is experiencing a huge jolt that was accompanied by a loud sound. And then there was blackness. Her BMW going at about 80 kmph had crashed into the rear of a truck.
Singh gained consciousness a few seconds later and heard her driver shouting at her from outside the car, imploring her to come out of the backseat lest another car from behind dash into their vehicle, just like they had crashed into the truck that had abruptly stopped.
But Singh was caught behind the airbags that had come out as soon as the car had crashed. In her daze, she was finding it difficult to wriggle out. “In the meantime, my driver was trying desperately to stop the cars whizzing past us from both sides as we were in the middle lane, but to no avail. He started to throw water from a bottle to attract their attention so that they do not bang into the car at least, since I was still inside,” said the 55-year-old resident of Baner in Pune.
Finally, a young man came walking towards the car and with the help of him and her driver, Singh managed to come out and cross the lane to reach the sidewalk. “My BMW was smashed, I sat dumbstruck on the side of the tunnel, trying to comprehend what had happened. The truck was gone – it appeared that its driver had escaped the scene. My driver, who himself was badly shaken, continued to try and stop a passing car to get help, but for over half an hour no one came, no car stopped,” she recalled.
“I know vehicles are not supposed to stop on the expressway but I felt this was an emergency. After about 40-45 minutes, a police car arrived along with a tow truck and an ambulance. One look at my smashed car and they said I should thank both my stars and the sturdiness of the vehicle for still being alive.”
As Singh approached the ambulance, she realised there was no paramedic. “I was surprised to find that there was only the driver in the ambulance, no paramedic staff. Also, the ambulance was almost bare. There was a BP machine that was not working and an oximeter that the driver put on my finger and then said that my pulse was high, which was not surprising I guess,” said Singh.
She then remembered that her mobile phone was in the car and requested the people around to get it before she was taken to Pawana Hospital in the ambulance. “I called my husband, who was in Pune, on the way to the hospital. He said he would come straight to the hospital. On reaching there, the driver stopped at the parking lot and asked me to go inside. I told him I would wait for my husband as I was still very shaken, so he went away,” recounted Singh.
When her husband arrived, they decided to go to Pune and get medical advice from doctors there. Singh was advised two weeks’ rest and medicines for her numerous aches. “For many days I could not walk properly. Though there were no external injuries, I was really rattled and disappointed with both humanity and the relatively slower response of the authorities, but of course very grateful for escaping what could have been a much bigger disaster,” said Singh.
Just a month later, a 25-year-old woman had a similar miraculous escape as she drove out of Pune early one morning in October last year. As the woman, who wished to remain unidentified, neared Khandala at around 6.30 am, the Thar vehicle she was driving collided with a truck in front. The abrupt halt further caused a tempo travelling behind to crash into the rear of her vehicle.
“I felt the massive impact and the shock that momentarily blanked me out. When I came to, I saw a crowd of people around. However, no one came to help nor did vehicles behind me stop. I tried to get out of my vehicle and as I stumbled out, one man came towards me to help me. He looked like a religious teacher. He then offered to take me to the nearest hospital,” says the Pune woman who reached the hospital about 45 minutes after her crash and was immediately admitted and given saline.
Soon, the police reached the hospital as did her parents whom she had called before leaving from the site of the accident. “I owe a lot to the good Samaritan who came to my help and drove me to the hospital in his vehicle, but I am very disappointed that no other car stopped and by and that a large number of people were reluctant to come forward to help,” she said, admitting that she continues to be haunted by the incident.
Dr Suresh Kumar Mekala, Additional Director General of Police (Traffic), Maharashtra, said the response of the police depends on the information received. “Someone has to inform, one of the occupants of the vehicle or a passerby or a fellow commuter. The helpline numbers of the highway police and the State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) are flashed on boards along the road. We also have four Traffic Aid Posts that patrol the expressway,” he said.
“As soon as we get the message, we coordinate with the ambulances and the towing vehicles. They move into action and reach the location in eight to 10 minutes. In this particular case involving the BMW car, there was probably a delay in informing the authorities about the accident,” Dr Mekala added.
Dr Ajay Kale, medical coordinator of the Trauma Care Centre run by Pawana Hospital off the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, said ambulances reach the spot within 10 minutes of getting the alert at the call centre, adding that any delay in arrival is usually due to the delay in calls made by the people involved in the accident, which is understandable given the situation. “Also, all our ambulances are well-equipped but the equipment may not be visible to the patients as they are fastened tightly due to the speed at which the ambulances travel,” he said.
