A tragic road accident in Pune's Nigdi area claimed the life of a 19-year-old mechanic on Tuesday evening. The victim, Zaid Tamboli, lost his life after a horrifying chain of events involving a parked vehicle's door and a passing truck.
The Fatal Sequence of Events
According to the Nigdi police, the accident occurred around 6:30 pm on Tuesday. Zaid Tamboli, a resident of Nigdi who worked at a service station in Sanyognagar, was riding his scooter towards Triveninagar to visit a tea stall. As he passed a stationary mini-truck, the driver of the parked vehicle swung the cabin door open without checking for oncoming traffic.
"Zaid was so near the vehicle that he did not get the chance to apply brakes, and his scooter crashed into the mini-truck's door," explained a police officer involved in the case. The violent impact threw the young man onto the road. In a devastating twist, he was immediately run over by another truck that was approaching from behind.
Tamboli sustained critical injuries in the collision. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, but the doctors pronounced him dead on arrival.
Legal Action and Ongoing Investigation
On Wednesday, the Nigdi police took formal action by registering a case of causing death by negligence against the drivers of both trucks involved in the incident. The investigation into the precise circumstances and liability is currently ongoing.
This heartbreaking incident highlights a recurring and deadly danger on Indian roads: the peril of opening a vehicle door without ensuring the path is clear. Sadly, this is not an isolated case in Pune.
A Disturbing Pattern of Similar Accidents
Just a few months prior, on August 22, a similar accident injured three minors at Quartergate Chowk in Nana Peth. A 16-year-old motorcyclist and two pillion riders, aged 15 and 16, were injured when their bike collided with the suddenly opened door of a stationary car. Police reported that the car driver had stopped, pulled over to the left, and opened his door without checking his rearview mirrors or looking behind.
Earlier in the year, on May 3, another open door accident occurred on the Katraj-Dehu Road bypass. A motorcyclist and pillion rider were injured after crashing into the door of a parked tempo. The tempo driver had stopped because his vehicle ran out of fuel and was on the phone arranging for fuel when he opened the door without a safety check. Police filed a complaint for endangering life and causing wrongful loss in that case.
These repeated incidents serve as a grim reminder for all drivers and passengers to cultivate the simple habit of checking for traffic before opening a vehicle door. A moment's negligence can, as seen in Nigdi, lead to irreversible tragedy and loss of young life.
