A luxury Sai Ram Travels bus carrying 29 passengers, two drivers, and a conductor from Mumbai towards Buldhana collided head-on with a braking truck near Chainage 463 on the Samruddhi Expressway in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district at around 3am on 2 January 2026, instantly catching fire that charred driver Amol Shelkar (38, from Nandura, Buldhana) to death while injuring 21 passengers now stable at Government Medical College Hospital (GMCH) in Aurangabad.

The remaining passengers escaped through windows amid thick smoke, as fire crews from Padmpura and Kanchanwadi swiftly doused the blaze, highway police pursue the fleeing truck driver, and investigations probe speeding, rash overtaking, and possible mechanical faults, with officials vowing enhanced patrols.​

Chaos and Heroic Escapes Amid Roaring Flames​

The incident unfolded in the pre-dawn darkness near Lasur Station in the Maliwada toll area, a notorious stretch prone to high speeds and sudden manoeuvres.

Eyewitnesses recounted how the double-decker bus, attempting a risky overtake, smashed into the rear of the Chhattisgarh-registered truck that had abruptly slowed without indicators, ripping open the front section and igniting fuel leaks that rapidly consumed the interior seats, curtains, and upholstery fuelling an inferno visible for kilometres.

Passengers, many families returning from Mumbai holidays, described heart-stopping pandemonium: screams pierced the crackling blaze as conductor Prakash Jadhav (42) and co-driver Vijay Patil (35) yelled instructions to shatter side windows and use emergency exits.

A young mother clutched her toddler, leaping onto the highway shoulder with mere seconds to spare, while an elderly passenger suffered smoke inhalation before rescuers pulled him to safety.

Among the injured were six women and four children, treated for burns, fractures, and respiratory distress at GMCH, where doctors confirmed all are out of danger by Friday evening.

Fire Chief Ashok Khandekar led three tenders that arrived within 10 minutes, battling the flames for over 45 minutes to prevent spread to nearby vehicles. Highway Police Superintendent Rupali Darekar addressed reporters at the scene: “The bus driver’s body was recovered charred beyond recognition from the cockpit; CCTV footage shows the truck braking sharply before the collision, and its driver fled towards Shirdi.

Teams are raiding depots, with FIRs under IPC sections for rash driving and causing death by negligence. Victim support includes medical aid and trauma counselling.” The truck, laden with construction materials, was impounded later, its owner cooperating with probes into brake failure claims.​

Escalating Highway Horrors Demand Urgent Action​

This tragedy spotlights the Samruddhi Expressway’s deadly reputation since its 2022 partial opening as India’s longest access-controlled corridor linking Mumbai and Nagpur over 701km.

Designed for seamless connectivity, it has instead become a graveyard for the hasty: in October 2023, a speeding mini-bus rammed a container here, killing 12 and injuring dozens in eerily similar flames.

Last year alone, Maharashtra roads claimed over 1,500 lives per Union Ministry data, with 40% tied to national highways speeding (52%), overloading (22%), and unfit vehicles topping culprits.

The Sai Ram bus, though not overloaded, lacked recent fitness certification per initial checks, while truck brakes showed wear. Officials like Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik echoed prior calls: “We are deploying AI-monitored speed cameras, night-vision drones, and 24/7 patrols from Vasai to Jimetola.

Private operators must install panic buttons and fire suppressors by March.” NHAI regional director Sunil Pawar added, “Four under-construction flyovers contributed to congestion; full four-laning by mid-2026 will ease risks.”

Grieving kin of Shelkar, a father of two with 12 years’ experience, gathered at Nandura for last rites, demanding compensation and justice. Passenger accounts humanise the toll: IT engineer Rahul Deshmukh (29), bandaged at GMCH, shared, “Flames trapped us, but unity saved lives we held hands jumping out. Roads must prioritise people over pace.”

Recent crackdowns post-Diwali saw 500 challans for violations, yet experts urge behavioural shifts via awareness drives in 5,000 villages along the route.​

The Logical Indian’s Perspective​

Behind every statistic lies a shattered family, a survivor’s scars, and a community’s resolve to heal yet these recurring infernos on promised ‘superhighways’ scream systemic neglect that no family deserves.

The Logical Indian stands firmly for peace on our roads through empathy for victims like Amol Shelkar’s loved ones, kindness in supporting rescuers who braved the blaze, and harmonious dialogue uniting drivers, transporters, engineers, and enforcers to foster coexistence where journeys end in homes, not headlines.