MAPUSA
What began as a routine evening ride to attend a Ganesh Chaturthi aarti ended in tragedy at Carona on Saturday night, when two Bullet motorcycles collided head-on, killing a 60-year-old man and leaving two youngsters seriously injured.
The accident occurred around 9.30 pm on the main road near Hidden Heart Restaurant at Aldona.
The deceased, Subhash Suhas Chodankar (60), a resident of Carona, was returning home via Ucassaim on his Bullet motorcycle when it collided with another Bullet motorcycle, ridden by Saitash Sanjay Kalangutkar (21) and Prachit Prakash Kalangutkar (17).
The two youngsters, also residents of Carona, were on their way to a friend's house for an aarti as part of the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations.
Instead, the festive evening turned into a scene of chaos, with Chodankar lying fatally injured and the two youngsters seriously hurt.
The first response to the accident also came from those accompanying the injured youths.
With the 108 ambulances from Aldona and Mapusa reportedly engaged elsewhere, an ambulance from Chorao took time to reach the accident site.
Rather than wait, the youngsters' friends shifted the injured into private vehicles and rushed them to the Aldona health centre, barely a kilometre away.
They were subsequently shifted to the Goa Medical College and Hospital at Bambolim for further treatment.
By the time ambulance personnel reached the accident spot, Chodankar was declared dead.
The accident has cast a pall of gloom over Carona, where the three involved are residents.
Police are investigating the circumstances that led to the head-on collision.
