Tempo rams into Mulund doctor’s scooter on Eastern Express Highway, crushes him

MUMBAI: A freak accident on the Eastern Express Highway claimed the life of Mulund physician Dr Prakash Vaze (67), managing trustee of Vaze Sports Foundation, on Friday.
Vaze was heading to Thane on his blue scooter, along with his assistant, to buy trophies for an upcoming tournament when the accident took place near Hari Om junction in Mulund around 2pm. A plywood-laden tempo rammed into his scooter, causing him and his assistant, Hanumant Hegde (47), to fall on the road, said Navghar police.The tempo then crushed Vaze and ran over Hegde’s arms.
Accident spot at Mulund
An acquaintance said Hegde may need an amputation as one of the arms was badly crushed. Vaze was rushed to nearby Veer Savarkar Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival. His body was later sent to Rajawadi Hospital for post-mortem.
Dr Prakash Vaze's scooter.
“Dr Vaze was going to Thane to buy trophies for a sports event to be held on December 10. His wife, Rohini, had insisted that he take their car. She even handed him the car keys, but he insisted on going on his two-wheeler,” said Dr Manisha Pandav, a family friend.
Police arrested the tempo driver, Nilkant Chavan, and booked him under the relevant IPC sections for rash and negligent driving and causing death by negligence. He has been remanded in police custody. Prima facie, police have ruled out that he was driving drunk.
Some eyewitnesses claimed that the doctor lost his balance while trying to dodge a pothole and came under the approaching tempo, but police denied that it was a pothole-related death. “Vaze was not wearing a helmet while riding the scooter. His helmet was hanging on the mirror,” said senior inspector Madhav More.
Some locals claimed the stretch is uneven, which caused the accident, but police clarified that it is a concrete road.
The medical fraternity, which was often brought together by the annual sporting events organized by Dr Vaze’s foundation, was shocked with the news of his death.
Pandav remembered Vaze as “an active and amicable person”, whose passion for sports inspired him to start chess, kabaddi, badminton, cricket among other tournaments.
“The annual cricket championship that he organized for doctors was a much-awaited event,” she added.