Daijiworld Media Network - Thane

Thane, Apr 18: A banker couple from Bhandup died after their motorcycle was hit by a container truck near the Kharegaon exit on the Mumbai–Nashik Highway on Saturday morning, police said.

The victims, identified as Kalpesh Rewale and his wife Meenakshi, were both employed with private banks. The accident occurred around 7:30 am while they were returning to Mumbai after visiting a relative admitted in a Dombivli hospital.

According to police, the truck—reportedly heading towards Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and attempting to take a left diversion near Kharegaon exit—struck the motorcycle. The impact caused the couple to fall onto the road, after which they were run over by the vehicle.

Assistant Police Inspector Ratnaji Gaikwad of Kalwa police station said preliminary findings suggest the couple may have entered the truck’s blind spot during the turn. Their bodies were taken to a government hospital, where they were declared dead on arrival.

A relative said the family has not yet been informed of the tragedy and that the last rites will be conducted in their native place in Ratnagiri.

Locals apprehended the truck driver and handed him over to the Kalwa police. Authorities are reviewing CCTV footage from a nearby toll plaza and recording eyewitness statements as part of the investigation.

The incident comes just days after another fatal crash on the same stretch, when a 26-year-old driver died and four IT professionals were injured after their car hit a stationary trailer near Kharegaon toll naka.

The recurring accidents have renewed concerns over road safety on the busy corridor, which is currently undergoing widening work to expand into a multi-lane highway connecting Mumbai, Thane, and northern Maharashtra, including links to the Samruddhi Expressway.