An orthopaedic surgeon and a driver were killed when a speeding bus hit them on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway in Maharashtra on Sunday night, the police said. Two other doctors were also injured in the accident, reported PTI.

The accident took place near Somatane village around 10.30 pm on Sunday when Dr Ketan Khurjekar, 44, and the two other doctors were returning to Pune after attending a medical conference in Mumbai, said inspector Kishor Mhasawade. The three doctors had hired the cab from a travel agency, reported the Hindustan Times.

The cab driver had parked the vehicle on the roadside to replace one of its flattened tyres. While all the passengers came out of the car, Khurjekar went to help driver Dnyaneshwar Bhosale. The private bus hit all of them from behind, killing Khurjekar and Bhosale on the spot. The two injured doctors have been admitted to Sancheti Hospital in Pune.

“The driver left the bus there and ran away,” sub-inspector S Gavit of Shirgaon police outpost, who is investigating the case, told Hindustan Times. “We are looking for him.”

A case of causing death due to negligence has been registered at Talegaon Dabhade police station against the bus driver. The complaint in the matter was lodged by Dr Jayesh Pawar, one of the two injured doctors.

Khurjekar, a gold medallist, was the head of the department for spine surgery at Sancheti Hospital. He had performed around 3,500 surgeries. Dr Parag Sancheti, managing trustee of the Sancheti Hospital, called it a “huge loss”, according to The Indian Express.

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