Three days after a Honda City plunged nearly 70 feet from Parsik Hill Road, landing on the Belapur-Uran railway tracks, the CBD Belapur police have booked the 18-year-old owner of the car for allegedly allowing his 17-year-old underage friend to drive it.

The vehicle plunged on the Belapur-Uran railway tracks near CBD Belapur Station. (HT)

In Maharashtra, 18 is the legal minimum age to drive a car.

The 17-year-old, a Class 12 student, was not wearing a seatbelt and did not possess a driving licence when he allegedly lost control of the car, said officers. He suffered minor head injuries in the accident and was discharged from MGM Hospital in CBD Belapur on Friday.

The vehicle was completely mangled in the crash, with parts scattered across the railway tracks. Police said their preliminary investigation found that the minor was driving the car when he allegedly lost control, causing it to plunge onto the tracks.

Local residents, police officers and fire brigade personnel reached the spot, rescued the teenager and removed the damaged vehicle from the tracks.

“The car owner, who is 18 years old, allowed his 17-year-old friend to drive the vehicle despite knowing that he was underage and did not possess a driver’s licence,” said Arun Kumar, senior police inspector, CBD Belapur police station.

The accident occurred around 3.05pm and disrupted the Belapur-Uran railway line for more than one-and-a-half hours. The line connects Navi Mumbai directly to Mumbai’s suburban rail network through the Harbour Line. Police said the accident could have had devastating consequences had a local train been passing through the stretch at the time.

The 17-year-old was found injured in the rear section of the vehicle by local residents and was rushed to MGM Hospital in CBD Belapur.

The 18-year-old owner of the car was booked on Friday under Section 180 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, for allowing an unauthorised person to drive. The 17-year-old boy has been booked under Sections 281 (rash driving) and 125 (endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, as well as Sections 184 (driving dangerously) and 199A (offences committed by juveniles) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.