A truck crashed into a queue of vehicles on the Mumbai-bound Samruddhi Expressway near the Dusarbid toll plaza in Buldhana district, damaging at least 18 cars and injuring four people, police said. The pile-up occurred at about 11am after an overturned cement-laden truck forced traffic to slow down and stop in lane channel number 332.
According to the report, a speeding heavy container truck approaching the stationary queue failed to brake and rammed into the vehicles ahead. The impact triggered a chain collision, with several cars telescoping into one another. Police said there were no fatalities, although passengers, including children, were trapped inside some of the damaged vehicles.
Bystanders and passing motorists helped pull people from the wreckage, including a child. A commuter quoted in the report said passengers were trapped in the vehicles and that the scene was marked by panic and cries for help. Three to four injured people were taken to nearby hospitals, police officials said.
Former Maharashtra minister Rajesh Tope, who was travelling from Nagpur towards Jalna, stopped at the crash site and helped coordinate rescue efforts and medical assistance, according to the report. Buldhana superintendent of police Nilesh Tambe also visited the site and reviewed the situation.
The crash disrupted traffic on the Mumbai-bound carriageway for about four hours. Highway police and recovery teams worked to remove the wrecked vehicles, while several commuters remained stranded. The damaged cars were later towed away to reopen the carriageway.
Police have begun an investigation to establish the exact sequence of events and determine the circumstances that led to the collision. The immediate sequence reported by eyewitnesses involved the overturned truck, the resulting queue and the subsequent impact by the approaching container truck.
The incident comes amid rising concern over safety on the Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Expressway. State police data cited in the report shows that the expressway recorded 142 accidents and 128 deaths between January and August 2026. The reported fatality count has already exceeded the 126 deaths recorded during 2024 and represents nearly three-fourths of the 173 deaths reported in 2025.
The expressway recorded 137 accidents and 126 deaths in 2024, compared with 202 accidents and 173 deaths in 2025, according to the same data. The latest crash was reported as the state government announced additional safety and security measures for the route. Police continue to investigate the Buldhana collision.
