The Navghar police said the deceased— Sandhesh Prakash Pandit— was a priest. He was on his way to Bhandup where he had to perform a pooja at a house. The injured persons—Nitin Hegde (30) and Shivkumar Kahar (38)— were travelling to Goregaon in their car. They sustained minor injuries and were immediately rushed to the Malwankar Hospital in Bhandup, said the police.

The deceased’s father Prakash Ketkar told the police that the incident must have occurred barely 20 minutes after Sandesh left their house in Thane. “Sandesh was trained to be a priest and often invited to perform pooja at house warming ceremonies. He had to attend a similar function at Bhandup on that day,” said Ketkar. He added that his son was married to the daughter of Police Inspector Shashikant Kulkarni of the Kalwa police station.

Dumper truck driver Mehboob Khan (24) fled the spot leaving his vehicle soon after the accident. He was arrested within an hour and booked for rash and negligent driving. He will be produced at the Mulund court on Tuesday.

Police Inspector Shivaji Phadtare of the Navghar police station said the accident could have been averted, if the signal at the MALR had functioned.