PUNE: A 48-year-old software engineer out for a run died after a multipurpose vehicle (MPV), with a 19-year-old at the wheel, hit him near Maruti temple on NDA-Pashan Road around 7am on Saturday.This was the second jogger’s death in a road accident in the city within two months.“Virendra Dwivedi worked with an IT firm in Hinjewadi. He was crossing the road when the accident occurred,” assistant inspector Chaya Borkar of Chatushrungi police said.Dwivedi was taken to a private hospital in Bavdhan by fellow runners and the vehicle driver, a resident of Wadgaon Sheri. Doctors declared him dead on arrival.“We have recovered CCTV footage from the spot. A case has been registered against the MPV driver under BNS sections 106 and 281 following a complaint by the brother of the deceased, Dhirendra (43),” Borkar said.
Police officer: Parked vehicles shrink NDA-Pashan Rd’s width
Eyewitness Dinesh Yadav, a security guard at a nearby defence establishment, said the MPV was travelling towards Pashan Circle when it hit Dwivedi. “Dwivedi was flung into the air after the MPV hit him. He landed on the bonnet before falling onto the road and was dragged for some distance,” Yadav said.Yadav said he and other runners rushed to help the injured man, who was bleeding and unconscious. “The driver claimed he had briefly dozed off while driving. Dwivedi was taken to the hospital in the same vehicle,” he said.The tragedy comes less than two months after another runner, fitness expert Uday Shashikant Birmal (38), suffered fatal injuries when an autorickshaw hit him from the rear on DP Road in Erandwane on July 19. Birmal succumbed to his injuries about two weeks later.After inspecting the accident spot, assistant inspector Borkar pointed to congestion near the temple as a possible safety concern. “A large number of devotees visit the temple on Saturdays and park their vehicles along the road, reducing the width of the carriageway,” she said.Yadav said the driver maintained that he was travelling at a slow speed. The MPV suffered damage to its bonnet and windscreen.Dwivedi’s gym coach, Prakash Pawar, described him as a fitness enthusiast who rarely missed a workout. “He was extremely health conscious and regularly trained both in the gym and on NDA-Pashan Road. He was a part of our gym group and joined us on outings,” Pawar said, adding that Dwivedi was originally from Rewa (MP) and living in Pashan.Ultramarathon runner Kishor Dhankude, who helped take Dwivedi to the hospital, said runners were often forced onto the road due to inadequate pedestrian infrastructure. “I prefer running on the footpath, but there is no footpath near the temple,” he said, adding that vehicles parked along the road narrowed the space for both motorists and runners.
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