Mumbai: A woman driving an SUV, allegedly under the influence of alcohol, left a 30-year-old man severely injured in Mumbai.
The man was standing on the pavement in Ghatkopar on Saturday when he was hit. The police said the SUV broke through a metallic railing, climbed the a 3-feet high pavement, dragged the victim towards a nearby shop, and even drove up the three steps leading to the shop.
The man, who has not been identified, suffered severe head injuries and a leg fracture. He lay unconscious after the incident till passersby rushed him to the Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar East, where he is currently being treated. A police team reached the spot and took the driver and her companion into custody.
According to the police the driver of the SUV was one Bhavika Hiran Dama (35) , a resident of Bhanushali Wadi, Ghatkopar East who runs Garba Classes in Ghatkopar, Mulund and Vashi. She had allegedly been drinking all night long with a friend, Koram Bhanushali, and had decided to meet up with a third friend, Aniket Bansode for breakfast. The trio were heading to Asalfa in Saki-Naka, and were near Nana Nani Park when Dama lost control of the vehicle.
While Dama suffered injuries to her hand, the airbags in the SUV protected her and her friends from major injuries. Bansode immediately fled the spot.
Dama claimed that she had tried to apply the brakes but had stepped on the accelerator pedal instead. The police said that they have taken her blood samples to confirm that she was drunk.
Dama and Bhanushali were released from police custody after they assured the authorities that they would cooperate with the investigation. Since the injured man was unconscious, and the police have not traced his family yet, a case has been registered based on a complaint by the police officers.
“We have registered an offence under sections 281 (rash driving or riding on a public way) and 125 (rash or negligent act that endangers human life or the personal safety of others) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and sections 184 (driving dangerously), 185 (driving by a drunken person or by a person under the influence of drugs), 134 (duty of driver in case of accident and injury to a person) and of the Motor Vehicles Act,” a police official said.
Dama’s two friends have also been booked for allowing her to drive under the influence of alcohol. Bansode has also been charged for fleeing the spot after the accident.