The accident happened at around 11 pm last night near the St Andrews Church in Bandra. Pimpale, 46, was driving the car towards Arbaaz Khan's home, when he hit the elderly woman Chandra Bala. The police said they received a call at 11.30 from an eyewitness, reporting the accident. They said preliminary investigations showed the driver had not been drinking, but a medical report on his blood and urine samples is awaited. The driver has been arrested on various charges including negligent driving and culpable homicide not amounting to murder. He will be produced in a local court today.
The police said though Arbaaz Khan, who is Bollywood star Salman Khan's younger brother, was not in the car, his statement will be recorded as the car belongs to him.
The driver is said to have been negotiating a turn when he hit the woman, eyewitnesses said. An autorickshaw driver, who saw the accident happen last night alleged that the car hit the woman and then ran her over, but didn't stop. Another eyewitness said he and a constable rushed the victim to the Bhabha Hospital. "But no doctor was attending to her; half an hour was wasted there. They told us to take the woman out of the hospital," he said. She was later declared dead at the hospital.
An onlooker described the scene at the accident site: "I was just passing by and saw that a woman was lying on the road. She was lying here, bloodied and injured. There were about 150 people gathered there."
In 2002, Salman Khan's Land Cruiser ran over pavement dwellers in Bandra, Mumbai, killing one and injuring three others. The actor was booked for rash driving.
Reported by Rashmi Rajput, Written by Amit Chaturvedi | Monday, July 02, 2012 (Mumbai)
