Two women have died after being struck by a car on the Ambulgama–Panagoda road in the Hanwella Police Division, in a hit-and-run incident on the afternoon of June 6, Ada Derana reported.
Police said a vehicle travelling towards Ambulgama hit the two women, who were walking along the road in the same direction. The car did not stop and fled the scene.
The injured women, aged 42 and 44 and residents of Ranala and Girandurukotte respectively, were rushed to Nawagamuwa Hospital where they later succumbed to their injuries, police said.
CCTV footage and information gathered from the scene allowed officers to identify and arrest the suspected driver and take the vehicle into custody. The investigation revealed the driver was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the collision, police added. Hanwella Police are conducting further investigations.
The case adds to a string of fatal road incidents over the past week. A speeding lorry killed two motorcyclists in Anamaduwa on June 5, while three passengers were injured when a Galle private bus crashed at Dadalla the day before. Earlier this month, a Vesak dansala in Meegoda turned tragic when a cab crash killed six people — a case in which the registered cab owner and another suspect later surrendered to police following an island-wide manhunt.
