Mercedes has given its preliminary report to the Palghar police, stating that the car in which former Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry (54) was travelling along with three co-passengers on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad on Sunday and met with an accident in Palghar, had been running at the speed of 100 kmph and barely five seconds before the collision, the driver had applied the brake. The vehicle had thereafter dashed into the divider wall at the speed of 89 kmph. Police sources said that the highway has varied speed limits, of 90 kmph and 40 kmph, considering the so-called road -accident black spots at the stretch.
"Mercedes company's primary report has come. As per the report, the car in which Mistry and three others were travelling was going at 100 kmph speed five seconds before the collision. Just seconds before the collision, the brake was applied and the vehicle's speed came down to 89 kmph and dashed at that speed," said Superintendent of Police, Palghar, Balasaheb Patil.
He added, "The speed limit on a normal highway is 90 kmph and on the bridge, it is 40 speed. The bridge has a black spot and there is signage of 40 kmph speed before the start of the bridge. So from the findings, it is believed that those seated in the back were not wearing seat belts and the vehicle was overspeeding. A team of Mercedes will take the vehicle with them on September 12 to their workshop in Thane for further inspection. The RTO has also given its report stating that when the collision had taken place, at that time, four airbags of the front side of the car had inflated."
According to the police sources, the final report from the Mercedes company along with the statements from the survivors would give more clarity as to what had exactly transpired.
Apart from Mistry, one of his co-passengers, Jahangir Pandole, also died in the accident. The police sources said that Mistry and the other deceased person were sitting in the rear seat of the car. The other two occupants in the car who were injured in the accident were identified as Anayta Pandole, and Darius Pandole.
According to the police, Mistry and others were travelling on the Mumbai Ahmedabad National Highway in a Mercedes car having registration number MH47AB6705 and were headed from Gujarat to Mumbai.
Following the car crash that killed Mistry and his friend Jahangir Pandole, the police have written to the Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT), Pune, to audit so-called black spots on national and state highways within the Palghar district.
According to the police, there are at least 29 such spots in the district and they want the CIRT, the nodal agency for road design and transport research, to ascertain what structural faults led to the mishap and recommend corrective measures.
