Woman injured in one accident killed within minutes in another

A woman who lay injured after being knocked down by a motorbike was killed after a jeep knocked her down while she was being helped up, according to police in Dambulla. Two people who were trying to assist her also sustained serious injuries after the jeep crashed into the group. 

Police said the incident occurred late last evening(6) at Bulagala along the Dambulla-Anuradhapura Main Road. The victim, identified as Sriyani Mangalika (50) was a mother of one. She had come to Beragala along with her sister to wait for her only daughter, who is working at a textile shop in Dambulla town. 

According to police, the victim had been crossing the road to meet her daughter and her friend when she was knocked down by a motorbike. 

The woman's sister, along with a owner of a nearby shop had tried to assist the victim and help her up, when a jeep which was traveling at high speed crashed into them. After knocking down all three persons, the driver of the jeep had continued without stopping. 

According to witnesses, the second accident which killed the victim occurred within 2-3 minutes of the first one. The victim's sister and the shopkeeper were admitted to Dambulla Hospital with serious injuries. The motorcyclist involved in the first accident is also at Dambulla Hospital receiving treatment for minor injuries he sustained in the incident. 

The motorcyclist had told police that he had been unable to see the road properly due to being suddenly blinded by fog lights from a vehicle that came from the opposite direction. However, police have arrested the motorcylist on suspicion. 

Dambulla Police, which is investigating the incident, said the jeep involved had been identified as belonging to a manager of a private firm in Anuradhapura. Police said only the driver of the vehicle had been present in the car when the incident occurred. 

The victim was working abroad and had returned to the country only recently to organize the three month alms giving of her husband, who died from a kidney ailment. Her death means that her only daughter has now been rendered an orphan. 

Story and Pix by Kanchana Kumara Ariyadasa in Dambulla

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