Out On Morning Walk, Man Run Over By Speeding Mercedes Near Mumbai

Police traced the Mercedes involved in the accident using CCTV footage.

Mumbai:

A 25-year-old man, Sunil Koli, was killed after being hit by a speeding Mercedes during his morning walk in Kalyan West in Maharashtra's Thane. The incident happened early Wednesday morning between 5.30 am and 6.30 am.

According to police, Koli was hit with such force that he was thrown into a roadside archway, killing him. The driver fled the scene immediately after the collision. The victim's family lives in Madhya Pradesh and he has no relatives in Thane. 

The police traced and seized the Mercedes involved in the accident using CCTV footage from the area and arrested the accused driver, identified as Omil Anil Gaikar, in connection with the hit-and-run incident.

The case has drawn attention because the car reportedly displayed a "Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Member" (MLA) sticker on its windshield.

Police are investigating the source and legitimacy of the sticker but clarified that its presence alone does not establish any connection between the vehicle and any sitting MLA.

The incident comes a month after three people were killed and another suffered critical injuries after a speeding BMW crashed on Mumbai's Coastal Road and fell off a bridge on September 20. The car was travelling from Marine Drive towards Haji Ali on the Coastal Road when the driver allegedly lost control. The speeding vehicle hit a boundary wall before falling off the bridge into an area where car parking work was underway. It was later found that the car was also involved in another road accident earlier this year, according to people familiar with the matter.