Cyrus Mistry did not wear seat belts, Mercedes was over-speeding: Police
An 'error of judgement' on the part of the driver caused the accident, a police official said, adding that after crossing the Charoti check post in Maharashtra's Palghar district, the Mercedes covered a distance of 20 km in just nine minutes.
FollowFormer Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry and Jahangir Pandole, who were killed in a car crash while returning to Mumbai from Gujarat on Sunday, were not wearing seat belts.
The information was provided by police officials linked to the probe into the crash of the luxury car driven by eminent gynaecologist Anahita Pandole (55). The Mercedes hit a divider on a bridge over the Surya river near Charoti Naka, 120 km away from Mumbai.
The probe also points towards over-speeding. An 'error of judgement' on the part of the driver caused the accident, a police official said, adding that after crossing the Charoti check post in Maharashtra's Palghar district, the Mercedes travelled 20 km in just nine minutes.
Mistry (54) and Jahangir Pandole were killed on the spot, while Anahita and her husband Darius Pandole (60) were seriously injured in the accident. Both the deceased were not wearing seat belts. Jahangir was the brother of Darius, a former independent director of the Tata Group of companies.
According to Palghar police, the analysis of the footage captured by CCTV cameras at the Charoti check post found that the car had crossed the check post at 2.21 pm, and the accident took place 20 km ahead (in the Mumbai direction), he said.
This shows the car covered a 20 km distance (from the check post) in just nine minutes, the official said, adding that the accident took place at 2.30 pm on the Surya river bridge.
According to an eyewitness account, the car lost control while trying to overtake another vehicle from the left side and crashed into the road divider.
The bodies of Mistry and Jahangir Pandole were sent to the state-run J J Hospital in Mumbai for postmortem, the official said, adding that the injured persons were on Monday shifted from a hospital in neighbouring Vapi town of Gujarat by road to Mumbai.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who holds the home portfolio, has asked police to conduct a detailed investigation into the accident.
