A speeding SUV ploughed into the footpath on LBS Marg in Ghatkopar early on Saturday, leaving at least three people injured, one of them critically. The accident took place around 6.15 am near Shreyas Cinema, when a SUV with a Gujarat registration number lost control and mounted the pavement, police said.
According to officers, the SUV first rammed into the divider before crashing through makeshift barricades, hitting people sleeping on the footpath and damaging shop shutters. The impact flung debris across the road. Three people, all pavement dwellers, bore the brunt of the crash. They were rushed to Rajawadi Hospital. Doctors confirmed that one man is in critical condition, while two others have sustained multiple injuries.
The car was occupied by two women — one of them the driver — and a man. Locals rushed to help after the collision and managed to hold the two women until police arrived. The male passenger fled the scene, and a CCTV camera captured him running from the car. Investigators said liquor bottles were found inside the SUV, prompting suspicion that the group had been drinking before the crash.
“Preliminary inquiry suggests the vehicle was being driven rashly, and the role of alcohol consumption is being examined,” a senior police officer told Sunday mid-day. Police have booked the accused under sections of the BNS and the Motor Vehicles Act. Those injured in the crash, pavement dwellers who had been sleeping on the footpath near Shreyas Cinema, are yet to be identified.
