A significant increase in the use of heroin by drivers of various vehicles has been reported in Sri Lanka in the recent past, the Police said.
Police investigations have revealed that heroin was found in the blood of the driver of the lorry involved in the recent multi-vehicle collision that killed two, including a top Central Bank official, in Mattakuliya on Wednesday (02).
The Police said the driver of the lorry, 28-year-old Gayan Sankalpa Karunaratne, lacked a drivers licence, while blood tests have shown that he had used heroin 06-days prior to the accident.
Karunaratne, a resident of Wellampitiya, is reported to have transported eggs from Modara to Wattala, during which his lorry had veered off the road, over the centre island on the Mattakuliya Road, and had collided with two three-wheelers plying in the opposite direction.
The Police said the lorry had continued to move despite hitting the two vehicles and had eventually crashed onto the gate of a building, following which Karunaratne had fled the scene, but was later arrested.
46-year-old Tyron Ranjith and 33-year- old Central Bank Senior Assistant Director Amitha Sundararaj had travelled in the first three-wheeler and were pronounced dead upon admission to hospital.
The driver of the second three-wheeler, 50-year-old Ajith Silva, was also pronounced dead after admission to hospital, while his passenger is receiving treatment in intensive care in the Colombo National Hospital.
The Police further said that the driver of the lorry was also found to be over speeding and driving in a reckless manner.
Gayan Sankalpa Karunaratne was produced before the Magistrate’s Court in Hulftsdorp on Thursday (04) and has been remanded. (Newswire)
