MARGAO: Goa’s ‘killer’ roads on Monday snuffed out three more lives in two separate accidents reported at Mashem-Canacona and in Anmod Ghat section near Nandran-Mollem respectively.
In the first accident reported at Mashem slope, 52-year-old Rajesh Verneker, a native of Gadag, Karnataka, died in a collision between a car and KTC bus, while his wife was among the six others who sustained injuries in the accident.
According to Canacona Police, they received information about the accident at 8.15 am when the car moving down the Mashem slope had a head-on collision with an oncoming KTC bus.
Police said that deceased car driver Rajesh Vernekar, a resident of Gadag was found trapped on the driver’s seat. However, he was removed by cutting open the door, but was declared dead at the South Goa District Hospital, Margao. His body has been preserved in the morgue.
The police said that the injured were Anjali Rajesh Vernekar, 49-year-old wife of the deceased, Ramdas Vernekar (60), Anusha Rajesh Vernekar (21),
Twinkle Rajan Kavlekar (18) and Reshma Verneker (52) were first taken to Canacona Community Health Centre (CHC), and later shifted to South Goa District Hospital, Margao in a 108 ambulance and then to Goa Medical College and Hospital, Bambolim for further treatment.
Nineteen-year-old Robhina Fakir, a bus passenger, also sustained minor injuries and was later discharged from the CHC after receiving first-aid.
According to Canacona PI Harish Gaus Dessai, the accident occurred at around 8 am, as the car driven by Vernekar, proceeding from Karwar to Margao, entered in the wrong lane to approach the bypass road and went towards the right side, before crashing into an oncoming KTC bus.
According to police, on noticing the speeding car at the curve, coming down the slope, the bus driver stopped the bus, even as the car collided head-on.
The impact of the accident was such that the car’s front portion got crushed.
Motorists and other residents rushed to the site to remove the injured occupants from the ill-fated car, who were later taken to Canacona Community Centre.
The locals failed in their efforts to remove the deceased from the car and he was finally pulled out after fire-fighters cut open the door.
Canacona Police conducted panchanama and no offence was registered as yet.
The police said that statements of the injured will be recorded to ascertain the exact cause of the accident. Police later removed both the vehicles from the accident spot.
In the second accident, two persons, who were travelling in a car proceeding from Mollem to Anmod Ghat, died on Monday evening after their vehicle rammed into a tree in the Ghat section near Nandran, Mollem.
Collem PSI Vibhavari Gaunker investigating the case said they received the information at around 6.15 pm and a police team rushed to the accident spot.
Both were taken to the Usgao Urban Health Centre (UHC) however, they were declared brought dead.
The police said it was a self-accident and police disclosed their names as Bharat Agarasi (43) from Hubballi and Naveen Nagesh Raikar (36) from Dharwad.
PSI Gaunker said that having found their mobile phones, the family members have been informed about the incident.
Both the bodies were shifted to the South Goa District Hospital for preservation and post-mortem examination.
While police are unaware of who was driving the vehicle at the time of the accident, the car will be shifted to the police station for RTO inspection.
