Scooterist Rahul Patil injured after coconut tree falls in Bhayandar West
A 35-year-old scooterist suffered multiple fractures to his neck and back after a roadside coconut tree collapsed on him in Rai Village, Bhayandar West, on Thursday morning. The victim, Rahul Patil, was riding his scooter home amidst heavy rainfall when the incident occurred.
Patil is the son of Ashok Patil, the president of the Raigaon Bhumiputra Shilotri Sangh. According to his father, Rahul had gone to a nearby petrol pump to refuel his scooter and was returning home when the coconut tree suddenly came crashing down. The tree struck him directly on his neck and back.
Local residents immediately rushed to Patil's aid, alerted the police, and shifted him to a nearby hospital. He is currently undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Bhayandar, where doctors are performing surgeries to address his multiple fractures.
The incident was captured on video by a passerby and subsequently shared on social media. The footage triggered widespread public outrage over alleged civic apathy and the failure of authorities to identify and remove hazardous trees before the onset of the monsoon.
In the wake of the accident, citizens have renewed demands for urgent surveys of weak and dangerous trees across the area. Local residents are urging civic authorities to carry out preventive pruning and remove vulnerable trees to prevent further injuries or loss of life.
The Bhayandar police have registered an incident report and are investigating whether negligence played a role in the tree-fall incident.
This accident follows another recent tragedy in the region. Barely two days prior, an 11-year-old schoolboy, Vihaan Srivastava, was killed in Chembur when a peepal tree crashed onto his school van.
Civic authorities reported that the region has seen a sharp rise in such incidents due to heavy rain and gusty winds, with 20 tree-fall cases reported in the Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation area and another 19 in the Vasai-Virar region over a three-day period.
