The owner of the crane truck involved in the fatal road accident that occurred on Monday (28) morning in Borella has also been taken into custody, the Police stated.

The crane driver has since been remanded. Accordingly, the Colombo Traffic Magistrate’s Court (MC) ordered the individual to be remanded until 7 August. Additionally, the Magistrate ordered the release of the owner of the vehicle on a Rs. 500,000 surety bail. These orders were issued by the Colombo Traffic MC after considering the facts presented by the Borella Police.

Meanwhile, the crane truck driver involved in the fatal accident, in which an individual died, was under the influence of cannabis, according to the Police. This has been revealed during a medical examination conducted on the relevant individual.

A total of seven individuals injured in the accident are currently receiving treatment at the Colombo National Hospital. Police stated that one of the injured individuals succumbed to his injuries at the time of admission to the hospital. This was also confirmed by the Deputy Director of the Hospital, Dr. Rukshan Bellana. The deceased was a 62-year-old resident of Athurugiriya. Dr. Bellana also noted that among the injured, two are women, and that the remaining five are men. It has been reported that two among those injured are Police officers.

The accident occurred when a crane travelling from Rajagiriya towards the Bauddhaloka Mawatha collided with six motorcycles and three motor vehicles that were stopped near the traffic signals at the Kanatta (Cemetery) roundabout. Closed circuit television camera (CCTV) footage showed that the truck driver, while vehicles were stopped at the traffic lights, sped forward, running over the line of vehicles. Meanwhile, Police suspect that the accident may have been caused by a brake failure.