Day 63: Rickshaw Driver Knocked Down By Aditya Narayan Still Can't Talk!
63 days into the accident, and the family of the rickshaw driver whom Aditya Narayan knocked down is still reeling. He’s still at Kokilaben Ambani Hospital, Andheri. His nephew elaborates on his uncle's health...
"My uncle can't talk.
HE STILL cannot talk," says Vinay, nephew of the 64-year old auto driver
who was knocked down by Aditya Narayan at the Lokhandwala Back Road on March
12 this year.
At 5:30pm on March 12, singer Udit Narayan’s son Aditya’s
Mercedes knocked an auto rickshaw, severely injuring the driver. The
64-year-old was rushed to Kokilaben Ambani Hospital (Andheri) and admitted to
the ICU.
Aditya Narayan
According to Vinay, with
whom we spoke this morning, the rickshaw driver’s condition is better and he
thankfully he’s out of danger. "But he has still has tubes in his neck
inserted in his throat around the neck region for which he cannot talk. We
don't know if he can talk or not; oncethe doctors had planned to check that by
removing the tube but his blood pressure dropped very low- and then that
procedure was kept at the backburner.
In the last agonising weeks, apart from his inability to talk, he has shown
improvement. He has started recognising people and even responds to sounds. He
even gestures if he wants something in particular. The other day, he was even
made to walk, but of course with the help of support from the staff. Now, he
should only talk- then we will somewhat heave a sigh of relief.
Auto Rickshaw Driver Knocked Down By Aditya Narayan
All said and done, it has
been very tough for us. We are poor people. This driver is now almost
bed-ridden, his son hasn't gone to work ever since that ill-fated day. The
family has been hit very badly."
Aditya Narayan
The driver has two children, a son, 25-years-old and an unmarried daughter, who is 30-years-old. The family in question is financially weak. The driver used to work in a mill earlier, and since it shut down, he had much difficulty finding work. Finally he loaned money from various friends and family members to buy a rickshaw, which unfortunately soon got stolen. But since he found rickshaw-driving a sensible and secure way to earn his livelihood, he approached the bank for a loan to buy another rickshaw (the one he was driving when he met with the accident). He was paying Rs 7000, as monthly EMI on the rickshaw. Life has gone topsy-turvy--- and how!"
In his last chat with us
on March 25, Vinay had categorically
said, “Lagta hai break ki jagah, unke bete Aditya Narayan ne accelerator
par pair rakh diya hoga, warna aisa impact aur aisa damage nahi hota. 70/80
kms/hr ke speed se unki gaadi chal rahi thi.”
