Double crash grounds Eastern Express Highway

Two collisions, six hours apart, caused traffic snarls onu00a0Eastern Express Highway in the downpour yesterday; commuters resorted to walking to escape jamCommuters on the Eastern Express Highway had to face a major traffic jam on a busy Tuesday morning, as two trailers collided at around 7:30 am. This was followed by another mishap at 1 pm, an hour and a half after the wreckage of the trailers was cleared, when a rickshaw rammed into a stationary car at a traffic signal.Two trailers that collided at Chembur's Chheda Nagar Bridge were towed away at a safe spot andu00a0a rickshaw rammed into a vehicle at a traffic signal at Garodia Nagar RoadThe morning incident took place at Chembur's Chheda Nagar Bridge, causing the traffic to come to a halt till about 9:30 am, when the traffic police got in cranes to move the first of the two trailers. The second pile-up brought about a snarl-up for around 15 minutes.Onlookers said that commuters resorted to walking to avoid getting late to work. Madan, a local vendor, said, A large number of office goers, who were getting late, left their autos and taxis, and started walking. Traffic police said that by 11:30 am, both the trailers were towed away to a safe spot ahead of the bridge.Traffic constable Nivrutti Ghughe said, There were no casualties but a lot of inconvenience was caused to the public. We had to divert the traffic to ease the situation. The heavy downpour did not help the situation much.Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Nandkumar Chougule said, The traffic police try to avoid such situations by asking goods traders to inform us in advance of the route they are taking, so we can be careful.u00a0We send SMSes to many people asking them to avoid taking the blocked routes, and inform radio stations to broadcast messages about the same.The cause for the collision was a tyre burst, sending one of the trailers banging into the other, according to Chougule.Auto rams carThe second accident, on Garodia Nagar Road below the flyover, was caused by sudden brakes. The driver of the Linea said, When the signal turned red, I halted and suddenly felt a thump at the back. The two passengers in the car did not suffer any injuries and were sent on their way in a taxi, while the driver was whisked away by the Chembur police for interrogation.The traffic cops present at the site said the rickshaw driver was speeding, but were unable to take his statement. He was bleeding profusely and had lost consciousness. Said Ghughe, The rickshaw was carrying a woman of about 25 years. She suffered injuries to her face and was bleeding. Both, the lady and the driver have been taken to Rajawadi hospital in Ghatkopar.The traffic police are concerned over the increase in the frequency of accidents on this section of the Highway due to the monsoon.Meanwhile, on the Western Express Highway, a motorist reported a trailer blocking the road, causing a traffic jam on the bridge towards Santacruz around noon. But the traffic police deny any such incident occurred. Mumbai Traffic Police's SMSAn oversized vehicle is stuck on road in Chheda Nagar, Eastern Expressway. This coupled with heavy rains is causing slow movement of traffic. All concerned are requested to avoid Eastern Expressway till the traffic is normalised. Thanks. DCP, DET & PRO.