News
Accidents rise as restrictions are lifted
Scenes of accidents in Puttalam
More than 30 people were killed and 450 injured this week on roads around the country – a marked rise in accidents.
Police Spokesman DIG Ajith Rohana said the increase in fatal road accidents followed the lifting of quarantine curfew and other restrictions.
“During the COVID shutdown few deaths were reported but, sadly, the numbers are on the rise now,” he said.
“We are going to conduct special traffic operations, especially on weekends. Drunk, speeding, reckless or negligent drivers will be targeted.”
Motorcycle and three-wheeler accidents were among the most serious cases reported during the week.
A police constable attached to the Hanwella station died following an accident in Meegahawatte on the New Kandy Road.
Husband and wife Anura Gamage, 67, and Wathana Lekamwasam, 63, residents of Harumalgoda, were killed when their motorbike had a head-on collision with a private bus at Habaraduwa on the Galle road. Mr. Gamage had been taking his wife to a clinic at the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital while the bus had been carrying employees of a garment factory.
Scenes of accidents in Jaffna
A private bus travelling from Ruwela to Kalmunai ran off the road at the Miyankulam area in Valachchenai on Friday, causing injuries to 22 passengers and the driver of the bus. Ten of the seriously injured were health workers travelling from Polonnaruwa to Batticaloa Hospital.
Police are investigating whether a technical defect caused the accident or whether the driver had lost control of the bus. They suspect a connection with an SLTB bus that had veered off the road while passing the private bus.
A 22-year-old bicycle rider on his way to a rendezvous with his girlfriend was killed after being run over by a lorry on the Ihala Horawadunna junction on the Pannala Elabadagama Bammanna road.
In another accident, a luxury car was driven into the Diyawanna Oya last week, knocking down and injuring a mother and daughter. Police said the car had been travelling at high speed before plunging into the water. A 21-year-old youth had been at the wheel.
Welikada Police are conducting further investigations. Pix by Hiran Priyankara and Romesh Madushanka