A four-year-old boy, playing on the road, was killed on Saturday evening when he was knocked down by a car in the Waꦍdala area of Mumbai. The incident occurred near Ambedkar College when Bhushan Gole, the accused, was rever🉐sing the car. The driver, reportedly 19 years old, was arrested under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), and further investigation is underway.
The driver did not flee the scene and was taken to the police station, an official quoted by news agency PTI said. “Prima facie, the driver was not under the influence of alcohol,” ꩲthe official added. The four-year-old’s family lives on a fo𓂃otpath in the area, and his father is a worker.
This incident comes days after a driver in Mumbai lost control of an electric bus operated by the civic-run Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking. The bus rammed into pedestrians and vehicles, killing seven people and injuring 42 others. More than 20 vehicles were also damaged in the crash, which took place in Kurla on December 9ꦡ and was captured on CCTV.
Road accidents are common in India. Data from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways shows a troubling rise in road fatalities between 2018 and 2022. The total number of road accident fatalities in 2022 reached 1,68,491, up from 1,53,972 in 2021, according to the government’s ‘Road Accidents in India, 2022’ report.
Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu have recorded the highest number of road accidents over the past five years. More than 7.77 lakh fatalities were reported across the country during the 2018-2022 period, theꦐ ministrꦓy said.
