TEAM HERALD
PONDA: A truck driver was injured, while two families and a pedestrian had a lucky escape after a truck rammed into a protection wall of a house and a tree in front of another house at Opa-Khandepar, on Tuesday.
According to police, the accident occurred at about 12.45 pm at a sharp turn near the narrow junction at Opa-Khandepar. A major tragedy could have taken place had the accident taken place at around 1.30 pm, as a school is located in the vicinity and the area would have been crowded with students leaving for their homes.
A speeding truck was proceeding towards Usgao when it rammed into a tree. Luckily, an alert pedestrian, Ranjeet Narvekar, saved his life when he jumped from roadside into premises of a house at the last moment. The truck also rammed into a protection wall of a house.
The lorry driver, Bangar Babu, from Andhra Pradesh, who escaped with minor injury claimed that he lost control of his vehicle when a speeding truck came in the oncoming direction.
He was, however, unable to explain how his vehicle had swerved on the wrong side of the road and rammed into the tree and the protection wall.
He said he had unloaded iron channel in Ponda and was proceeding towards his state.
The tree and the protection wall saved two roadside houses in the vicinity. The two house owners, Sandeep Parkar and Uday Nageshkar, said their property had been saved by the tree and the protection wall, else the lorry would have rammed into their houses.
“Locals have been demanding the widening of the road at the Opa junction since a long time. A schoolgirl had lost her life in an accident here besides, while frequent mishaps have taken place at the site,” said Parkar.
