From Cyrus Mistry to Princess Diana: Road accident deaths that shook the world

Former Tata sons chairman Cyrus Mistry’s death in an accident on Sunday in Maharashtra’s Palghar district brings back memories of similar mishaps that have claimed the lives of other notable personalities.

The former Tata sons chairman was in a luxury car with three other passengers returning from Ahmedabad when tragedy struck at 2.30 pm when the car hit a road divider on the bridge on the Surya river. The police said that prima facie, the car was speeding, which led to the accident.

Officials added that along with 54-year-old Cyrus Mistry, a co-passenger identified as Jahangir Pandole died on the spot whereas the remaining two — noted gynaecologist Anahita Pandole and her husband Darius were seriously injured.

An officer was quoted as telling news agency PTI, “As per preliminary investigation, overspeeding and the error of judgement caused the car accident. Both the deceased were not wearing seat belts.”

Cyrus Mistry’s death | Prima facie, it looks like the car driver lost control. Cyrus Mistry’s mortal remains are at a govt hospital in Kasa. An Accidental Death Report (ADR) is being filed by the police, as per procedure: Palghar Police sources

— ANI (@ANI) September 4, 2022

“While analysing footage obtained from CCTV cameras at the Charoti check post, Palghar Police found that the car had crossed the check post around 2.21 pm and the accident occurred 20 km ahead (in the direction of Mumbai),” the officer added.

This shows the Mercedes car covered 20 km of distance (from the cheek post) in just nine minutes, the officer said, adding that the accident occurred at 2.30 pm on the bridge on the Surya river.

Mistry and Jahangir Pandole were in the back seats. Darius was in the front seat with Anahita, who was at the wheel, police had said.

The tragedy also puts the spotlight on the high numbers of fatalities that Indian roads witness every year — in 2021, according to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 1,55,622 people died in road accidents.

Deep Sidhu

Prior to the demise of Mistry, the scion of the real estate behemoth Shapoorji Pallonji Group, India was stunned when Punjabi actor-turned-activist Deep Sidhu died in a road accident on the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) highway near Sonepat in February.

Sidhu came into the spotlight in 2021 when he was charged with a role in the violence during the protests on Republic Day. He was out on bail. He was at the centre of the farmers’ protest against the three controversial farm laws, which were withdrawn by the Centre in November last year.

According to the police, Sidhu's car, a Scorpio, hit the back of a stationary truck which had broken down on the side of the road. The driver’s side of the Scorpio bore the brunt of the impact.

“Deep Sidhu was at the wheel at the time. His friend suffered bruises and was taken to a nearby hospital for a check-up. Sidhu was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead.

Gopinath Munde

On 3 June 2014, Rural Development Minister Gopinath Munde died apparently of shock and cardiac arrest suffered during a road accident.

The 64-year-old Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was on his way to the airport when his car was hit by another vehicle at Prithviraj road-Tughlak road roundabout in the heart of the capital.

Doctors at AIIMS Trauma Centre had later said that Munde was brought to the emergency department by his personal assistant and driver. He was sitting in the back seat of his car which was hit by another car or any other vehicle from the side he was sitting.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to mourn Munde’s death.

“Extremely saddened and shocked by the demise of my friend and colleague Gopinath Munde. His demise is a major loss for the nation and the government,” Modi had tweeted.

Extremely saddened & shocked by the demise of my friend & colleague Gopinath Munde ji. His demise is a major loss for the Nation & the Govt.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 3, 2014

He described Munde as “a true mass leader” and said that “hailing from backward sections of society, he rose to great heights and tirelessly served people”.

Jaspal Bhatti

The days of sarcastic humour came to a halt on 25 October 2012 when one of India’s foremost satirists and comedian Jaspal Bhatti passed away in a car accident in Shahkot.

The 57-year-old actor-director, who became popular with his satirical shows during the golden days of Doordarshan, was on tour to promote an upcoming film when his car, driven by his son Jasraj, rammed into a tree.

They were also rushed to a private hospital in Jalandhar where Bhatti, who suffered serious head injuries, was declared brought dead.

Nandamuri Harikrishna

Former Rajya Sabha MP and Telugu actor Nandamuri Harikrishna died in a road accident near Anneparthi in the Nalgonda district of Telangana on 30 August 2018.

The fourth son of N T Rama Rao and brother-in-law of Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu was driving a Toyota Fortuner and was going to Kavali in Nellore district in Andhra Pradesh to attend a fan’s wedding. However, the SUV hit a road median on the Nalgonda highway near Anaparthi and flipped over several times.

Police officials said that that Harikrishna, who allegedly not wearing a seat belt, was thrown out of the vehicle on to the road and received serious head injuries.

Harikrishna acted in 15 films in a career spanning over 50 years. Laahiri Laahiri Laahirilo (2002) and Seetaya (2003) happen to be his biggest hits.

Rajesh Pilot

Senior Congress leader Rajesh Pilot’s (father of Congress leader Sachin Pilot) promising career came to an abrupt and tragic end when his jeep collided with a bus in his Lok Sabha constituency Dausa, 90 km from Jaipur, on 11 June 2000.

The former Indian Air Force pilot-turned-politician suffered multiple injuries on his head, chest and face when his jeep collided head-on with a Rajasthan Road Transport bus at 4.45 pm.

A flamboyant and energetic grassroot-level leader, Pilot was brought into politics by late Indira Gandhi in 1979.

Born on 10 February 1945, in Baidpura village, Ghaziabad district, Uttar Pradesh, he used to sell milk as a young boy. After graduating in Arts, he joined the Indian Air Force, where he rose to become a squadron leader. He resigned from the Air Force following a call by Indira Gandhi.

Giani Zail Singh

The seventh President of India, Giani Zail Singh passed away at the age of 78 in a road accident near Chandigarh on 29 November 1994. A truck driving on the wrong side of the road hit the car the 78-year-old was travelling in.

He was not in office when the incident took place. The Centre announced seven days of official mourning for Singh and issued a commemorative postage stamp.

Princess Diana

In late August 1997, Princess Diana was newly divorced and ready to begin a brand-new chapter of her life.

Then 36 years old, the royal mom to Prince William, then 15, and Prince Harry, then 12, was in a blossoming relationship with Dodi Al Fayed, the son of Harrods department store owner Mohamed Al Fayed. The new couple, making the most of summer, had been vacationing in France together.

On 31 August 1997, Diana and Al Fayed were travelling in a car in Paris — with a driver and bodyguard — pursued by paparazzi when their vehicle slammed into a support column, flipped and came to a rest in front of oncoming traffic. Al Fayed and the driver died instantly, while medical workers attempted to keep Diana alive for hours before her death was announced.

Paul Walker

Paul Walker, the star of the Fast and Furious film franchise, died after the car he was in crashed at a speed of more than 100mph and burst into flames on 30 November 2013.

Walker and his friend Rodas left a charity event in Santa Clarita, California in a 2005 Porsche Carrera GT, with Rodas driving and Walker riding shotgun. The car was known for being hard to handle, and only a few hundred yards away from the shop, Rodas lost control of the vehicle.

The Porsche was travelling at about 100 miles per hour before it hit a curb, a tree, a light post, and then another tree before bursting into flames.

Those attending the charity event immediately came running — including Rodas’ young son. As Walker’s friend Antonio Holmes recalled, it was one of the most horrific crash scenes in Hollywood history. He said, “It was engulfed in flames. There was nothing. They were trapped. Employees, friends of the shop. We tried. We tried. We went through fire extinguishers.”

Andrew Symonds

Former Australian Test cricketer and two-time World Cup winner Andrew Symonds died on 15 May this year following a car accident in Queensland.

The police said the accident occurred in Hervey Range, 50 km from Townsville. The car Symonds was driving left the road and rolled, according to a police statement, which described it as a single vehicle incident.

Tragic news surrounding the former Australia all-rounder and our thoughts are with his friends and family.https://t.co/6eXiz8Mb5O

— ICC (@ICC) May 14, 2022

Symonds’ death occurred with Australian cricket still coming to terms with the passing of all-time greats Rod Marsh and Shane Warne, who both died in March.

Symonds always cut a flamboyant figure in the Australian team, featuring in 198 ODIs and 26 Test matches for his country.

With inputs from agencies

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