Today, December 23, in a horrific incident, two toddlers and a man were crushed to death when a speeding dumper mowed down nine pavement dwellers. Disclosing details, the police said the incident happened around 1 am at Wagholi near the Kesnand Phata when a dumper of a private company from Pune veered onto the footpath and ran over the people, all labourers sleeping in shanties there, reported Free Press Journal.
It is learnt that at least three persons, including two minors and another man, were killed instantly while six others were seriously injured in the mishap. The preliminary information revealed that the dumper driver was allegedly in an inebriated state and lost control of the heavy vehicle, said to be owned by Buildwell Enterprises, while going from Pune to Wagholi.
The victims are identified as one-year-old Vaibhavi Ritesh Pawar, her two-year-old brother Vaibhav Ritest Pawar, and a man named Rinesh N Pawar, 30. They were all sleeping beside each other when the tragedy hit them.
The condition of the six others injured has been described as critical. They have been admitted to the Sassoon Hospital. According to locals, around a dozen workers had arrived from Amravati on Sunday to work as labourers in different construction sites in the region.
Following the incident, the local police and officials have launched a probe into the exact causes of the disaster, as initial reports suggest that the driver was purportedly in a drunken state, said locals who rushed there to help the victims.
