Well-known gynaecologist, Dr Anahita Pandole (55) of the Breach Candy Hospital, and her husband, Darius Pandole (60), were brought by road to the HN Reliance Foundation Hospital in Mumbai on the morning of 5 September, Monday.
The couple, who survived the unfortunate accident that claimed the lives of former Tata Group Chairman Cyrus Mistry and his co-passenger Jahangir Pandole in Palghar, near Mumbai on Sunday, 4 September, is now stable, The Indian Express reported.
A team of 20 multi-disciplinary doctors is evaluating them, Dr Tarang Gianchandani, CEO, HN Reliance Foundation Hospital, said.
A police official said that over-speeding and an “error of judgement” by Dr Anahita Pandole, who was driving the car, caused the accident on the bridge on the Surya river at 2:30 pm on Sunday, while they were returning to Mumbai from Ahmedabad.
Who Are Darius and Anahita Pandole?
Darius Pandole, who was sitting on the passenger side in the car, is the son of Dinshaw Pandole of the Duke’s company that owned popular soft drink brands like Mangola, Lemonade, and the Duke Soda. The company was acquired by PepsiCo India in 1994.
Dinshaw Pandole recently passed away on Monday, 29 August.
Cyrus Mistry and the Pandoles were coming back from Udvada, where the Parsis have their main "Fire Temple," where they had gone to pray for Dinshaw Pandole, Darius and Jahangir's father.
Darius is also the Managing Director and CEO of the Mumbai-based JM Financial Private Equity. He was earlier an independent director in the Tata Group firms and had opposed the removal of Cyrus Mistry as the Tata Sons Chairman. He had stepped down from the post when Mistry was removed.
Meanwhile, Dr Pandole, who has 32 years of experience, including 25 years as a specialist, had collaborated with the Bombay Parsi Punchayet and started The Bombay Parsi Punchayet Fertility Project in January 2004, in an effort to address the population decline in the Parsi community.
The project provided fertility treatment to Parsi couples at subsidised rates and allowed them to have access to state-of-the-art medical facilities.
The medical component of the 'Jiyo Parsi' scheme evolved out of this initial fertility project with significant inputs and suggestions from Dr Pandole.
Dr Pandole is a consultant obstetrician with a special interest in infertility management, high-risk obstetrics, and endoscopy surgery, as per the 'Jiyo Parsi' website.
She completed her MBBS from the Topiwala National Medical College and BYL Nair Charitable Hospital in 1990 and completed her MD in Obstetrics and Gynaecology from the same college in 1994.
What’s the Condition of the Pandoles?
While Anahita Pandole sustained a hip fracture and pneumothorax (collapsed lung), doctors at the Breach Candy Hospital stated that her overall condition, along with her blood pressure, is now stable.
On the other hand, Darius Pandole has sustained a bilateral jaw fracture. Owing to the displaced jaw, his airway was obstructed. As per a source, a maxillofacial surgeon pulled out the jaw with wire fixation cleaning his airway, The Indian Express reported.
Distance of 20 km Covered in 9 Minutes
The luxury car was speeding and covered a distance of 20 km in just nine minutes after crossing the Charoti check post in the Palghar district, 120 km away from Mumbai, the police said. The car hit a road divider on the bridge on the Surya river, killing Mistry and Jahangir Pandole on the spot.
A police official said, "While analysing the footages captured by CCTV cameras at the Charoti check post, Palghar Police found that the car had crossed the check post around 2:21 pm and the accident occurred 20 km ahead (in the direction of Mumbai)."
This shows the Mercedes car covered 20 km of distance (from the check post) in just nine minutes, the officer said, adding that the accident occurred at 2.30 pm.
(With inputs from The Indian Express, NDTV, and PTI.)
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