Ten of Dombivli family on way to Bhavnagar temple killed in crash after driver dozes off

Mid-day

Ahmedabad, 28 Aug 2017: Ten members of a Dombivli family, on their way to a Bhavnagar temple, died last morning when their jeep collided with a truck coming from the opposite direction on a highway in Ahmedabad. The police suspect the driver, who also died, fell asleep at the wheel. One person from the group has been admitted to hospital in a critical condition.

 

"The accident took place around 6 am on the Dhandhuka-Barwala highway, 6 km from Dhanduka in Ahmedabad district. We don’t know how it occurred, but it appears that the driver fell asleep at the wheel. The jeep, travelling at 70 kmph, went onto the wrong side and collided head-on with a truck coming from the opposite direction. The driver of the truck did brake, but considering the speed of both the vehicles, the accident was unavoidable," said District Superintendent of Police R V Asari.

 

The deceased have been identified as Kiran Kamlesh Shah, 45, her daughter Jinali, 20, and son Nemil, 17, her brother-in-law (husband Kamlesh’s brother) Shashikant, 56, his wife Rita, 52, and daughter Dhara, 25, Shashikant’s cousin Hitesh Shah, 52, his wife Vibha, 48, and nephew Nandeep, 22, and another relative from Vadodara. Kamlesh had died seven years ago due to a heart attack.

 

Hitesh’s mother Hasumatiben Laxmi Chand Shah, 78, had a lucky escape. She was supposed to go on the trip but, at the last minute, couldn’t due to ill health. She hasn’t been informed of the tragedy yet.

 

Asari said, "The jeep had been hired from Vadodara by the family, visiting Vallabhipur, their native place in Bhavnagar district. While 11 passengers were declared dead on the spot, including the driver Ahmad Malik, Shashikant’s son Jaymin, 17, has been admitted in Ahmedabad civil hospital in a critical condition."

 

A doctor from the hospital got in touch with a relative of the family and informed about the accident.

 

On Saturday afternoon, the Dombivli family had boarded Karnavati Express from Mumbai Central, reaching Vadodara around 11 pm and spending the night at Shashikant’s sister Jayshree’s home. They had left early the next morning in a 15-seater jeep.

 

The family, from the Goghari Visha Shrimali Jain Samaj, had been on its way to the Khodiyar Maa Mandir in Ratanpur, Bhavnagar district.

 

A cousin of Hitesh, Kalpesh Shah, said, "They had been planning this trip for a long time; and with their children having holidays due to Ganeshotsav, they had decided to go for the darshan."

 

Shocked relatives and friends gathered at the homes of all three brothers in Dombivli East after getting news of the tragedy later in the day.

 

Rajesh More, a neighbour, said, "Kiran, who was a housewife, had been looking after the children after Kamlesh’s death. Jinali was in TYBCom in a Thakurli-based college and Nemil was in Std XII (science) in an Andheri college."

 

Shashikant too had had a heart attack last year. He had the marriage of his daughter Dhara, who was working in a private firm, on mind, looking for alliances. His son Jaymin is an HSC student in Dombivli’s Gurukul College.

 

Shashikant and Hitesh used to deal in wholesale of tailoring material.