Sharp turns, lack of CCTV cameras make a killer spot on Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway

The stretch of MumbaiAhmedabad Highway near Charoti bridge Palghar where Cyrus Mistry died on Sunday is a chronic accident spot with frequent mishaps and deaths especially of bikers midday reached out to families of two including a 19yearold bike vlogger who lost their lives here The vloggerrsquos father Bala Subramanian said as per cops his son Aditya was crushed by a dumper last September but the accused was never caught He even checked CCTV footage from the area but to no availAlso read Cyrus Mistry death Cops to collect car dataAs part of its campaign United Superbikers Club shared a map of the accidentprone area on social media warning bikers of the sharp curveAs part of its investigation midday also spoke to a bikers group which had run campaigns promoting safety among bikers and motorists taking the dangerous road in 2014 following a spate of deaths on this killer stretchlsquoMy son never drove rashlyrsquoAditya Bala Subramanian a 19yearold vike vlogger is among the victims who died here While cops said Aditya got crushed by a dumper as his bike wavered while overtaking it his parents told midday he never rode rashly and was always alert while drivingThe incident took place when Aditya a Jogeshwari East resident joined a Sunday Ride KTM team from Andheri to Palghar in September 2021 He being a vlogger had his helmet with a camera strapped on but the camera went missing after the incident The accused dumper driver has not been identified yetAditya Bala Subramanian was wearing a helmet with a camera at the time of the accident but the camera went missingHis father Bala Subramanian told midday ldquoMy son died at the same spot where Mistry died I went there last year to see how my son died and learnt many have lost their lives here There is a sudden curve here which is not visible beforehandrdquoldquoKasa police told me he was overtaking a dumper from the left side when the bikersquos handle touched the dumper bringing him under its wheels The dumper driver allegedly fled from the spot and could not be traced I have been looking for the killer for a year now I know my son never drove rashly or went over the speed limit I also checked CCTV footage from the nearby area but all of them were too far from the spotrdquo he saidlsquoGovt needs to take stepsrsquoSantacruzbased businessmen Omprakash Dubey and Rohit Dubey also lost their lives at this fateful spot in 2018 after their car crashed into a divider Five others who were in the same Mahindra car were injured while the duo died on the spot Their families said this spot has been taking so many lives and yet no measures have been taken by the authorities to address the issueFrom left Omprakash Dubey his son Shubham and friend RohitOmprakash Dubeyrsquos son Shubham told midday ldquoYesterday after I heard about Cyrus Mistryrsquos death I found that the accident took place at the same spot where I lost my father When I visited the stretch after my fatherrsquos death I learnt that this spot has killed many peoplerdquoldquoThe government should take action and put in place measures to deter accidents They should install rumble strips and safety signboards They should also keep an ambulance service in the area so that accident victims can be attended to fastrdquo he addedSunday campaignsUnited Superbikers Club a Damanbased group after noticing the frequent accidents and deaths of bikers conducted a test drive on the stretch and then held Sunday campaigns there in 2014 They also installed rumble strips and signboards with the help of local authorities to warn motoristsAbhishek Chowdhury who handles the Mumbai part of the group said ldquoIn 2014 there were frequent accidents on this stretch so we ran a campaign there Every Sunday we would drive there and stand on the road instructing drivers and bikers to reduce speed We also kept ambulances there so that in case of accidents those injured get immediate helprdquoSpeaking on why so many accidents take place here he said ldquoBoth sides of this spot are dangerous and there are sudden turns The road is uphill with a sharp curve which makes it difficult for bikers The abrupt elevation is due to bad road engineering but a little precaution can save livesrdquo