News
Drunk driver and Russian woman crash SUV into BMW, motorcycle in Havelock Town
A gem businessman from Wellawatta who was driving his Audi SUV under the influence of liquor crashed into an oncoming BMW and motorcycle, injuring many people in Havelock Town on Monday night (April 25) has been remanded till May 9.
Police have filed charges on three counts against the suspect, identified as 30-year-old M. Fawaz: Reckless driving resulting in injuries to others, driving under the influence of liquor and failure to prevent a serious road accident.
According to Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Traffic of the Wellawatta Police, M.U.M.A. Jayasekara, the suspect, who had been driving his jeep from the direction of Pamankada junction towards Havelock Road had lost control of his vehicle at the Maya Avenue roundabout (near Vilasitha Nivasa), first crashing into a motorcycle before speeding past it and crashing through several barriers dividing the road and hitting a BMW vehicle coming in the opposite direction. The impact had caused the BMW to spin round and crash into a jeep coming directly behind it.
The motorcyclist and his pillion rider had sustained injuries in the incident and were admitted to hospital. One of them is still in a critical condition at the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit. The female BMW driver meanwhile was admitted to a private hospital in Colombo having suffered from severe shock.
Police officers who arrived on the scene found a glass on the dashboard of the suspect’s vehicle. It is said to have contained alcohol. A bottle was also said to have been in the vehicle, though it was not recovered. According to police, the suspect appeared so intoxicated he could barely speak. A breathalyzer test also confirmed that he was under the influence of alcohol, police said. As the suspect appeared to be too intoxicated to speak, police were unable to record his statement until the following morning.
In his statement, the suspect had claimed not to remember the accident but had said he was heading towards Nugegoda and had missed the turn at the roundabout, making him change direction suddenly, resulting in him losing control of his vehicle.
Police had also recorded a statement from a Russian female who was in the suspect’s vehicle. She had given a written statement in Russian. Police are in the process of translating the statement to find out what she was doing in the suspect’s vehicle.
