News
Eight people killed in fatal road accidents on Friday; drunk and reckless driving to blame
Fatal road accidents continue to claim a large number of lives, including those of children.
A kite string entangling on a motorbike resulted in the deaths of a mother and her 18-month-old son at Pitiwella in Boossa on the night of July 17.
H. Suranga (35), who is attached to the supply section of the Sri Lanka Air Force, said he, his wife and two children were on the motorbike on their way to visit his mother-in-law when he suddenly saw what looked like a piece of wire stretched across the Galle Road at eye level.
A kite string entangling on a motorbike resulted in the deaths of a mother and her 18-month-old son at Pitiwella in Boossa on the night of July 17. Pic by Sirangika Lokukaravita
Worried the string would get entangled around his eldest son’s neck, Suranga had grabbed the string with his left hand, as he could not stop the bike. The string had cut his hand and this injury, along with his son struggling in the seat due to what happened, had caused the motorbike to topple.
Suranga’s wife, Menaka Prasadini (34), had died on the spot, while his 18-month-old son Anuka Randul had succumbed to his injuries in hospital. His eldest child did not suffer any serious injury.
The Police have recovered the large yellow and black kite which caused the accident. They said it had been attached to a thick nylon string rather than a cotton thread. The kite flyer is yet to be found.
This was not the first time a kite had caused a fatal road accident in Sri Lanka. Two weeks before, a motorcyclist suffered severe neck injuries after getting entangled in a kite string near the Southern Expressway entrance in Galle.
Meanwhile, in Wanathavilluwa a five-year-old child was killed and two others were seriously injured last Sunday, when a double cab driven by an intoxicated driver crashed into a house, a Police officer revealed.
Initial investigations revealed that four people, including the driver, were intoxicated and the vehicle was travelling at high speed.
The child was playing in the garden while the two others injured were in the front portion of the house.
The injured people, a 20-year-old male and a 32-year-old female, were transferred to the Colombo National hospital.
The four people in the cab were private firm employees undertaking a water supply project in the area. The driver of the cab was taken into Police custody.
A lorry driver was killed at Karuwalagaswewa, after his lorry was involved in a head on collision with a double cab. Pic by Jayarathna Wickramaarachchi
A lorry driver was also killed at Karuwalagaswewa, after his lorry was involved in a head on collision with a double cab transporting Kerala cannabis on Friday.
A Police officer said the cab, which had travelled from Palai in Jaffna, had been travelling at high speed and had smashed head on into the lorry. The Police recovered about three kilograms of Kerala cannabis from the cab and they believe it had been on its way south, while distributing stocks along the way.
Both drivers suffered serious injuries and were admitted to the Puttalam Base Hospital. Later they were transferred to the Colombo National Hospital for further treatment. The 47-year-old lorry driver however, succumbed to his injuries.
The cab driver’s assistant had fled the scene after the accident, but was later arrested by the Police.
On Friday alone, eight people were killed in road traffic accidents, Police Spokesman and Senior Deputy Inspector General Ajith Rohana said.
Drunk driving and reckless driving have been identified as the main causes of these accidents, he said.
Three victims were pedestrians, three were motorcyclists, and two had been travelling in three-wheelers, he revealed.
SDIG Rohana said there was a tendency of pedestrians and those travelling in light vehicles being victims of fatal accidents.
He urged people to be more cautious when travelling on the roads.
In Wanathavilluwa, a five-year-old child was killed last Sunday, when a double cab driven by an intoxicated driver crashed into a house. Pic by Hiran Priyankara Jayasinghe