• 36-yr-old, driving with a learner’s permit, is suspected to have pressed accelerator instead of the brake 
• 1 dead and 2 in ICU after drowning in Dikwella seas   

A woman who only holds a learner’s driving permit, has been arrested for reckless driving which caused the accident reported earlier on Monday (6) in Doluwa, Gampola, where three women lost their lives after being hit by a car and another woman was injured and hospitalised.

The victims were among a group of four elderly women from Doluwa who were attempting to cross the road after attending a religious ceremony at around 1.30 p.m. Police stated that a car approaching from behind struck all four women and then collided with a nearby lorry before coming to a stop. The impact trapped the women between the car and the lorry, causing severe injuries. 

Three of the women died at the scene, while the fourth woman was admitted to the Kandy National Hospital in a critical condition. Police noted that the car had initially been driven by a man — the husband of the woman who later took the wheel. He had arrived in Gampola with his wife and their two children. At some point, the husband reportedly allowed his wife, a 36-year-old woman holding only a learner’s driving permit, to drive. 

Preliminary Police investigations reveal that as the car approached the temple area, the woman mistakenly pressed the accelerator instead of the brake, causing the vehicle to surge forward uncontrollably and hit the group of women before crashing into the parked lorry. The force of the collision also caused the lorry to move into the road, and the car ultimately came to a stop after hitting a slope. The female driver was hospitalised and later taken into Police custody. 

Meanwhile, three individuals have been swept away due to strong currents while bathing in the seas near the Blue Beach Island in Dikwella. Area residents had then acted swiftly to rescue the trio but one person was pronounced dead. The body of the deceased has been taken to the Batheegama District Hospital, while the other two individuals have been admitted to the Matara District General Hospital and are currently receiving treatment in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The victims are residents of Yatiyana.