Drunk driver to be charged with murder

The driver who was arrested over the accident in which a student was killed and eleven others were injured when a double cab ran over them at Aralaganwila had been charged with murder, Police said today.

A 16-year-old student was killed and 11 others aged between 14 and 16 years were injured when a cab travelling from Dehiattakandiya to Aralaganwila crashed into a group of students returning from a private class at Bogas Junction in Aralaganwila around 3.00 p.m. on Sunday.

Director Police Legal Division SSP Ruwan Gunasekara said the driver was produced in the Polonnaruwa Magistrate’s Court and was remanded till August 24.

He said the breathalyser test and the JMO report confirmed that the driver was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident.

He said the police also sought the Attorney General’s instructions over the incident and that the driver will be charged with murder and attempted murder.

Meanwhile, Police Spokesman SSP Jaliya Senaratna said that this was the third incident where a driver was charged with murder.

The first case was at Kirinda last month where three police officers who were on duty at a roadblock on the Matara-Hakmana Road were run over by a tipper truck, killing a police constable.

The second case was at Nugegoda where a soldier was killed when a bus crashed into an army cab on the Nugegoda flyover.

Earlier, the Police said that cases would be filed against drivers for fatal accidents due to negligence and reckless driving, after consulting the Attorney General.

They said section 294 of the Penal Code has clear provision to file murder charges against such individuals.(Darshana Sanjeewa Balasuriya)