As per the CCTV footage, the car passed through the Dapchari check post in Palghar district at 2.21 pm on Sunday. It hit a road divider on a bridge over the Surya river on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway at around 3 pm, killing Mistry (54) and his friend Jahangir Pandole, who were siting on the back seat.
A police team probing the crash is examining the CCTV footage for further leads, news agency PTI has reported citing an official. Another police officer told PTI that the person behind the wheel had covered a distance of 20 km in just nine minutes, meaning the luxury car was being driven at a speed of 180-190 km per hour.
The probe team will submit a detailed report which will be forwarded to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who has ordered an investigation into the road accident, the official said.
The car was being driven by Mumbai-based gynaecologist Anahita Pandole (55), a family friend of Mistry, police have said. She and her husband Darius Pandole (60) were seriously injured in the accident. The crash survivors were on Monday morning shifted by road to a private hospital in Mumbai from Vapi in Gujarat where they were taken on Sunday shortly after the accident.
Anahita would undergo surgery after her situation improves, a hospital official said. Her husband has been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital. Anahita Pandole (55) has suffered hip fracture while Darius (60) had jaw fractures causing airways obstruction, a doctor said.
Mistry's funeral will be held at the Worli crematorium in Mumbai at 11 am today.
Meanwhile, the death of former chairman has initiated a debate on road safety issues such as check on over-speeding, wearing of seat belts for rear passengers and inconsistent road designs. Experts have pressed for the need to keep a check on speeding vehicles and making the use of seat belts for rear passengers mandatory. They have also stressed that roads in Delhi should have consistent designs to avoid any accidents.
According to International Road Federation (IRF), India accounts for more than 11 per cent of the road accidents deaths worldwide with 426 lives lost every day and 18 every hour. President, IRF India Chapter, Satish Parakh said, "We urge the Union and the state governments to make every possible effort to change the road safety culture while establishing clear road safety norms. Global agencies involved in road safety have blamed lack of policies and enforcement as the main reasons behind increasing road fatalities in the country."
Also, managing director of EKA (Electric Vehicles) Sudhir Mehta released a video showing the importance of seat belts even for passengers on the back seat.
Taking to Twitter, Mehta wrote, "We were once again morbidly reminded how #seatbelts save lives..front or rear seat, it is paramount for all passengers to wear them. As a seat manufacturer we know the ramifications..its been proved multiple times that #SeatBelts are the principal difference between life & death.
(With inputs from PTI)
