Nagpur: In a tragic mishap on Monday afternoon, a triple-seat motorcycle riding on the wrong side of the Nagpur-Amravati National Highway collided head-on with a Bolero pickup truck near Bharatnagar, under Wadi Police Station limits. The accident left one man dead on the spot and two others critically injured.

The deceased has been identified as Uttamkumar Mangaluram Thakur (35), a resident of Ambazari and an employee of the Ordnance Factory, Nagpur. His two injured friends, Satish Lakda (28) and Fulchand Ikka (32), were riding with him on a motorcycle (MH-31/EX-1246) towards Waddhamna from Athwa Mile, in clear violation of traffic norms—triple-seat and wrong-way driving.

Eyewitness accounts suggest that the bike rider was allegedly under the influence of alcohol, which may have contributed to the accident. Around 12 pm, a Bolero pickup truck (MH-49/BZ-0093) heading towards Wadi from Waddhamna rammed the motorcycle head-on.

The collision was so intense that Uttamkumar died instantly, while the other two sustained serious injuries and were rushed to a nearby hospital.

The pickup driver fled the scene after the incident. Wadi Police have registered a case and launched a manhunt to trace the absconding driver. Authorities are also probing the role of drunk and negligent driving by the motorcycle rider.

A panchnama was conducted at the site and further investigation is underway.