Cyrus Mistry accident: Driver Anahita Pandole wore seat belt 'improperly', claims new report

A report on the crash that killed Cyrus Mistry claims that Anahita Pandole wore the seat belt "improperly" at the time of the accident.

Until now, media reports suggested that two people in the front seat wore the seat belts and hence were saved while those in the rear did not, which led to the rear seat passengers death. Anahita, however, suffered more injuries despite being in the front.

The report called the "Scientific Crash investigation", investigated the road crash of September 4, 2022 at Surya Bridge, NH48, eight days after the accident i.e. on September 12. The report was commissioned by the Western India Automobile Association (WIAA) and prepared by J P Research India Pvt. Ltd. WIAA is the largest automobile association with over one lakh members and a body known for taking up issues of motorists with the government and other stakeholders. J P Research India Pvt. Ltd. is a traffic safety research and consulting firm with core expertise in onsite crash investigation and accidental analysis. Its parent firm is in California, USA.

The objective of commissioning the report was to determine the sequence of events leading to the crash, determine safety systems and contributing factors (human/vehicle/infrastructure).

As per the findings of the report, "Pandole had used the seat belts improperly at the time of impact. The belt was buckled to turn off the alarm, and the driver was sitting on the belt. This was also confirmed through an on-spot vehicle video taken from social media." The report relied largely on the online videos floating on social media besides crash vehicle examination.

Other Findings

Among the other claims in the findings, the speed at impact time was 94 kmph with error margin of 10 kmph. Only one occupant, Darius Pandale, wore the seat belt properly and was injured due to the impact from the passenger in the rear seat. The report claimed that there was no trace of avoidance maneuver that was being discussed, and which would have led to the car moving to the left side. Instead, the report states that the car was always travelling on the left side and the curvature was visible only 42 meters ahead of the impact. Based on the speed, a driver would have had only 1.6 seconds to react at 26 m/s. F1 drivers have a reaction time of 0.6 seconds while sober drivers take one to two seconds. Unclear speed limit and wrong signages that were too close to the crash site were among other problems pointed out in the report.

"Their investigation is not our concern. We only facilitated it. We did not commission it. Our people were there only to facilitate. We don't know about the findings. I have not seen the report. The SP of Palghar is the best person to talk about it," said Kulwant Sarangal on the findings of the report. 

"When the Mercedes Benz report comes, we will get clarity on whether the seat belt was put on properly or not. That report is awaited. It is likely to come in two weeks or so. Even the National Highway Authority of India audit report on signages is awaited. There could be a problem but we are looking into it. Our report will come out with what all was wrong. I have not seen the WIAA commissioned report. But they were given permission to look into the issue of road signages and problems people face due to them. They were to help ensure that this does not happen in the future. How can they get into this technical report? This (seat belt) is a technical report that will come from Mercedes. What expertise do they have on car inspection?," said Balasaheb Patil, SP of Palghar when approached for comment on the findings of the report.

"It was an unfortunate accident. Anahita Pandole is a very experienced driver so what went wrong cannot be ascertained at this moment, unless she recovers. I would blame NHAI for not making this road properly. Many accidents have occured at this spot, but the government did nothing. We may consider suing NHAI if my legal advisors are 'OK' with it. We pay tolls and the highest taxes on vehicles and fuels. Where are the amenities in return? WIAA is a renowned body. I stick to the report JP Research has given us," said Dossa, chairman of WIAA.