Three people have been seriously injured in a collision between a three-wheeler and a lorry on the Chilaw-Colombo main road.
The accident occurred on Thursday afternoon (30) in front of the Wennappuwa Assistant Superintendent of Police office, when the three-wheeler collided with a lorry that was transporting timber.
All three of the injured have been admitted to hospital with serious injuries, police said.
The driver of the lorry has been arrested by Wennappuwa Police in connection with the incident, and investigations are continuing.
Context
The Chilaw-Colombo road is one of the main arteries along Sri Lanka’s western coast, carrying a heavy mix of long-distance freight, buses and local three-wheeler traffic through a chain of built-up towns including Wennappuwa and Marawila. The combination of loaded lorries and small vehicles sharing a two-lane carriageway with frequent roadside stops is a recurring factor in serious crashes on the route.
Three-wheelers offer minimal structural protection to occupants, and collisions with heavy goods vehicles account for a disproportionate share of severe injuries in Sri Lankan road accident data. Timber lorries in particular carry loads that can shift or overhang, and police routinely examine load security in such cases.
Road deaths remain among the country’s leading causes of preventable death, and enforcement operations have been stepped up in recent weeks — including a vehicle inspection drive in Wellawaya this week that resulted in prohibition orders being issued to 24 drivers.
Police have not released the identities or conditions of those injured.
