Daily NEWS Srilanka

A mother and her daughter were most unfortunately run over by a bus at a yellow line crossing with traffic lights near Dickman's Road Junction, Bambalapitiya, last 1st. The two of them who had been near the yellow line with traffic signals allotted to pedestrians had stayed back until the green light came on had thus crossed the road in the proper manner and on that occasion while the other vehicles were awaiting their turn to move, an indisciplined bus-driver who started the bus
suddenly, had without paying heed to the traffic lights had swerved the bus at lightning speed and knocked down these two pedestrians; thus resulting in an accident. The two of them who were thrown aside in this instance abruptly had ultimately landed a distance several meters away.

As a consequence the mother who was walking with her daughter on the yellow line had died while her daughter had sustained serious injuries and was admitted to hospital. The deceased mother Mary Wimalaratna (46) was a resident of Warakapola and her daughter Sanduni Piyaratna (18) who was travelling in her company was an Advanced Level student of Devi Balika Vidyalaya in Colombo and the student who was thus badly injured was admitted to the National Hospital Intensive Care Unit.

This student who is supposed to be staying in a rented house in Bambalapitiya area has had an extra class that day and her mother had come to accompany her to the class from her Warakapola home when both of them had faced this accident. The Moratuwa - Pettah bus which was responsible for this accident was driven by a 23 year old youth by the name of Harsha Nuwan Jayakody living in Kebethigollewa. He was taken into custody by the police. He later admitted to police that on that occasion he had started and accelerated the bus with the motive of loading passengers and so engaged in a 'race'. It is in the following manner that this accident was recorded on a video at a private establishment close to Dickman's Road Junction: