A Hatton police Sub Inspector was killed, and seven others were seriously injured when the vehicle that guarded a van carrying a COVID body overturned on a footslope on the Hatton- Colombo main road in Watawala.
The deceased has been identified as Sub Inspector Bennett Kumarasinghe 51, who was the OIC of the Hatton Police Minor and Various Complaints Unit.
In addition to the police officer who died in the van at the time of the accident, there were three Hatton police officers and three relatives of the deceased in the vehicle.
The driver of the van and all its occupants were injured and were admitted to the Watawala Hospital and later transferred to the Nawalapitiya District Hospital for further treatment.
The COVID casualty was handed over to the Army in Kandy by the police.
The van was travelling in front of the vehicle carrying the COVID casualty and was attempting to overtake a lorry that was travelling in the Watawala area. Police said the van had overturned when the driver lost control of the vehicle while attempting to avoid a container vehicle travelling from Colombo to Hatton coming in the opposite direction. The van driver being treated at the Nawalapitiya Hospital will be taken to court by the Hatton Magistrate’s Court, after recovery, Watawala Police said.
The postmortem examination of the deceased Sub Inspector is scheduled to be held today (7) at the Atala Pindeniya Public Cemetery in Kegalle.
