Pune: Wanowrie police files case against PMC garbage van driver, garden dept staffers over biker’s death  

The Wanowrie police have charged a garbage van driver and Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) garden department employees with rash and negligent driving in connection with a fatal accident on Handewadi Road. The incident occurred at 8:45 a.m. on August 8 at Satav Nagar.

According to Sub-Inspector Dhananji Tone, the driver of a PMC garbage van struck a dangerously low-hanging branch of a mango tree while driving. The branch broke off and fell on 58-year-old biker Pandit Patil, who was trailing the van. Patil, a resident of Adarshnagar, was en route to deliver tiffin boxes when he suffered severe head injuries. He was taken to Sassoon General Hospital but succumbed to his injuries the same day. Initially, the police registered a case of accidental death.

PMC’s garden superintendent, Ashok Ghorpade, stated that the tree officer from the Hadapsar civic ward office is responsible for tree maintenance. Ghorpade explained that the tree branch fell due to the van’s collision, absolving garden staff of fault, as they regularly prune and trim trees.

However, local residents reported that the branch had sagged due to heavy rains. They claimed the van driver should have avoided it but chose to drive straight into it. 

An inquiry revealed that PMC garden staff had not cut the problematic branch nor surveyed for dangerous tree branches. The police plan to issue notices to the van driver and PMC garden staff, requiring them to participate in the investigation.