Pune: A biker from Mumbai, 35-year-old Jagruti Hogale, was killed on Sunday after her Thunderbird hit a pothole on Jawhar-Dahanu Road near Palghar while on short ride with two other women bikers.
The three are a part of the all-woman biker group Bikerni, whose founder, Pune-based Urvashi Patole, told Sakal Times that Hogale fell from her bike and was crushed under a speeding truck.
Hogale was survived by a 9-year-old son and husband. She was a homemaker who occasionally freelanced for advertising agencies.
The bike she was riding on the fatal day was gifted by her husband and christened Hirkani" by her.
"She did not see the big pothole filled with water while riding. The impact was such, that she flew off the bike and landed on the road, but her helmet got crushed under the rear tyre of a truck that was right behind her," Patole said on Monday. She died on the spot.
The two other riders with her rushed her to the nearby hospital but it was too late. "The two are still traumatised," Patole said.
Patole, whose group Bikerni is one of the largest woman bikers' club in the country, said she was planning a North-Eastern ride with Hogale and a select few bikers this year.
Patole said the Bikerni group has lost a very popular biker in this tragic incident. She remembered Hogale as someone who had immense passion for biking and would often go on short rides around Mumbai. According to a statement issued by the Bikerni club, the Bandra biker had also gone to Ladakh.
"Apart from that, Hogale was an marathoner, an avid trekker and a member of Mumbai's popular dhol tasha group 'Maurya'," she said.
Hogale was cremated on Sunday which her family, friends and a large group of bikers attended.
Pothole's menace
(With Agency inputs)