Truck driver tells police he dozed off at toll plaza

PUNE: The Talegaon Dabhade police on Thursday arrested a truck driver who caused the accident at Urse toll plaza which claimed the lives of four persons from Pune on early Wednesday.
Driver Devendrappa Basavarajappa Adimani (37) of Karnataka said he had dozed off while driving, when he suddenly noticed the toll plaza ahead and applied the brakes. But he could not stop the speeding truck and ended up crashing into a car waiting to pay toll at the plaza.
Satish Manuel Poharkar (52), a lawyer, and Rajesh Bhalvankar (44), Rajesh Tripathi (40) and Anil Vasudev Chavan (45), all real estate agents, were killed on the spot when the truck hit their car from behind.
The impact was so strong that the car was crushed between the truck and the tempo ahead. Police had to tear open the doors to remove the bodies.
Investigating officer Sunil Babar told TOI that the driver of the truck had fled the spot after the accident. "We arrested him on Thursday," he said.
Babar said that during the interrogation, Adimani revealed that he had dozed off while driving the truck. "The truck was speeding. When he noticed the toll plaza, he tried to apply the brakes but could not stop the truck because of the load in it and crashed into the car," Babar said.
He said the police have charged the driver under section 304 (A) (causing death due to negligence) of the Indian Penal Code and other relevant sections of the Motor Vehicles Act.
All four had gone to Mumbai for a land deal and were returning to Pune on early Wednesday. The accident occurred on the Mumbai-Pune corridor of the expressway.