Pune: One person was killed while nine others suffered serious injuries after a pickup truck transporting watermelons from Ahilyanagar to Mumbai collided head-on with a sports utility vehicle (SUV) on the Nagar-Kalyan highway at Ane village in Junnar taluka, around 95km from the city, late on Wednesday night.The Ale Phata police identified the deceased as 55-year-old Tukaram Madhe from Ahilyanagar district. “The pickup truck carrying watermelons was en route to Mumbai. Around 11.15pm, upon reaching Ane village, an SUV coming from the Ale Phata side crashed head-on into it on the Nagar-Kalyan highway,” an Ale Phata police officer said.“All 10 occupants of both vehicles suffered severe injuries. Local residents rushed them to a nearby hospital, where Madhe, who was travelling by the pickup truck, succumbed to his injuries during treatment,” the officer said.The collision also triggered traffic congestion on the highway after watermelons spilled across the road. “With the help of the local residents, we cleared the road and traffic movement resumed soon after,” the officer added.
