Businessman killed in Expressway accident

11 April 2013 10:44 am Views - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}} 60 Bookmark

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A 43-year-old businessman travelling with his family was killed when their jeep skidded and overturned at the 14.1 km post between Kahatuduwa and Gelanigama exits this morning.

The deceased’s wife and daughter who were seriously injured were admitted to the Horana Hospital while his son escaped unhurt.

They were on their way to Galle, when they met with the accident. The jeep driven by the businessman had hit the centre fence when it toppled.

Eye witnesses said he was thrown off the jeep and was pinned under it. Investigations revealed that he was not wearing the safety belt. ( Buddhika Kumarsiri )

Pix by Kusal Chamath

Comments - 60

Lal.Fernando. Friday, 12 April 2013 04:06 AM

This is a very sad story.But inexperience driving at high speed , remember "Speed Kills"

0 9

Rubert Vanderkoon Thursday, 11 April 2013 04:17 PM

You are talking about a small break of a wind ignoring the fact that the pile of dung has turned upside down!

11 11

faraz shauketaly Thursday, 11 April 2013 04:44 PM

i also skidded on the southern expressway. i believe there is smoething amisss on certain parts of that road. we need to have a truly independent checkof that road done by experts who will just do their job NOT be aligned to government or contractor.

6 25

Jackmart Thursday, 11 April 2013 05:07 PM

Driving fast in a freeway also needs experience. Especially with only two lanes one needs to be extra cautious driving in that speed. Safety belt cannot be ignored and this is a lesson for all those using the highway. After hours of battling with traffic one tries to make up for the delay in the highway often ignoring safety and speed limits. Safety standards of the vehicles also matter, however for that reason one cannot overlook basic precautions. He certainly could have avoided this tragedy.

2 24

ThejaB Thursday, 11 April 2013 05:08 PM

No seat belt...despite super highways and fancy vehicles, the typical Sri Lankan indiscipline.

1 26

OMG Thursday, 11 April 2013 05:21 PM

Center of gravity of Rexton is high, and very likely to topple.

5 17

Gam Friday, 12 April 2013 12:32 AM

I agree DERA.

2 22

Dunhill Friday, 12 April 2013 12:46 AM

yes Rexton has a higher centre of gravity. so it has high tendency of toppling if you bend at higher speeds.

3 25

hrm Friday, 12 April 2013 01:38 AM

speed is the culprit. people who saw the crash say vehicle shoot up at least 5 feet into the sky before falling down. U know how Diana died on Merc S class while not wearing a seat belt at high speed ?.

2 29

Linton fernando Friday, 12 April 2013 01:39 AM

friends... accident is an " accident" . Nobody wants to do it purposely. we, as Sri Lankans take little care about safely. Take this as a good lesson for all of us to
1. wear seat belts
2. abide by the road rules
my deepest sympathies to the family members of the victim..

0 23

John Friday, 12 April 2013 01:40 AM

I completely agree, Also Drivers need good skills to drive on high speed roads.

2 19

Felix Friday, 12 April 2013 01:46 AM

@ada - It is checked whether the people in the front seats wear seat belts. The y do but they remove when they get on to the road. Actually on the expressway all the passengers should wear seat belts as a safely measure.

0 11

Damith Friday, 12 April 2013 01:49 AM

Just 5sec in fact! Such a waste of a life due to ignorance!

1 38

Kamal Friday, 12 April 2013 01:56 AM

I think he had fallan a sleep or driving very fast. Hope others recover and may he RIP.

2 8

unchikun Friday, 12 April 2013 01:54 AM

Agree, these are outdated models assembled in Sri Lanka with little or no concern to safety. In Sri. Lanka life is a considered a cheap consumable.

8 21

sanjea Thursday, 11 April 2013 04:19 PM

THE HIGH WAY QUALITY IS VERY POOR..... So many Accidents...
No proper Standards Maintained.

17 14

Manju Friday, 12 April 2013 04:17 AM

These are our road standards as president said.

1 5

MRP Friday, 12 April 2013 04:31 AM

The vehicle has been taken to Bandaragama police station..it's speedo meter has stopped at 170kmh..RIP Shanuka!

1 11

Sapumal Bandara Friday, 12 April 2013 04:44 AM

Its not ignorance, its ARROGANCE.

1 40

Alfred Friday, 12 April 2013 04:46 AM

Definitely one needs skills to drive fast on a highway and the skill to know when to slow down. SUVs are generally of high centre of gravity and therefore likely to topple over if bends are taken at high speeds, This is what most probably happened.. it toppled over at a bend and hit the middle fence. Therefore driers should slow down at bends especially when the vehicle is a tall one

2 14

Sapumal Bandara Friday, 12 April 2013 04:48 AM

The Land Rover Defender drivers are worse. They are MANIACS.

1 25

Jonas Friday, 12 April 2013 06:25 AM

Here's my question. Can the deceased’s wife and daughter who were seriously injured claim compensation from the victim for negligence and murder according to SL law?

3 6

jayantha silva Friday, 12 April 2013 07:07 AM

You seem to have no respect for the dead .

1 9

MONKEY JOE Friday, 12 April 2013 07:10 AM

SL Govt. must make it a law to wear "seat belts" & teach the the drivers how to drive on highways. How come he drove at 170 kms. when only 100 allowed ?

2 10

Gilchrist Rajasuria Friday, 12 April 2013 07:10 AM

Speed KILLS!

2 12

C.Seneveratne Friday, 12 April 2013 07:22 AM

Allow them to speed is the theme

2 17

DESTINEY Friday, 12 April 2013 07:46 AM

SO SAD, PLEASE PRAY FOR THE DECEASED. MAY GOD BLESS HIS SOUL AND FORGIVE ALL HIS SINS. AND GRANT HIM A PEACEFUL HEAVENLY ABODE

DESTINEY

3 8

Munasinghe Saturday, 13 April 2013 05:21 AM

Even the owner of Micro company drives a Porsche Cayenne. He knows how safe his vehicles are!

1 15

tony Saturday, 13 April 2013 05:50 AM

Its not the seat belt. Highways are for speed travel, but this highway is not for speeding. This is not the fist accident on this road

1 3

tony Saturday, 13 April 2013 05:53 AM

OOOH 170 kmph is too fast

0 2

Bushel Perera Thursday, 11 April 2013 12:24 PM

JUST SKIDED ?......

2 12

Dam Thursday, 11 April 2013 11:05 AM

This is the Micro Rex-ton Jeep .......... this model is sux

87 55

Kiwi Thursday, 11 April 2013 11:12 AM

Safety is thrown to the wind in SL. The driver had not been wearing a seatbelt.

2 76

Dera Thursday, 11 April 2013 11:35 AM

It's sad to hear such incidents, but honestly a high number of fellows who drive SUVs in SL nowadays drive quite similar to the three wheel buggers, they think the whole road is dedicated to them.

6 55

Namal Perera Thursday, 11 April 2013 11:39 AM

Must have been encouraged by the recent comments of the Leader of the corrupt, lawless Banana Republic. Sorry you listened to drive fast and get killed.

11 39

josh811 Thursday, 11 April 2013 11:40 AM

Its not the vehicle, its the driver's negligence!

7 58

Discombobulations Thursday, 11 April 2013 11:43 AM

Sad he was not wearing the seat belt. Also shows that maybe speed too kills.

1 20

Chandana Gunatilake Thursday, 11 April 2013 11:50 AM

the basic error, not wearing the seat belt. RDA please instruct at the entrance to check about and remind about the wearing the seat belt in the future. take immediate action.

1 23

ADA Thursday, 11 April 2013 12:07 PM

In the accident which happened few weeks ago in the expressway it was found the driver had not been wearing a seat belt as well.

0 19

Premalal Thursday, 11 April 2013 12:08 PM

The lanes are too narrow for 100+ KMPH. There is very little margin for error.

10 37

Darrel Thursday, 11 April 2013 12:10 PM

Hail HE.....remove restrictions to speed driving

10 37

Visakia Thursday, 11 April 2013 12:14 PM

This can't be speeding must be inherent quality of Micro-Rexton

17 25

dilan.fernando Thursday, 11 April 2013 12:13 PM

Yes this is not a good vehicle. Its got a very poor safety rating. Even if you drive a Volvo V40 which is probably the safest car in the word there is no excuse not to wear a seat belt.

6 51

Visakia Thursday, 11 April 2013 12:15 PM

This would not have happened due to speeding but due to inherent unique quality and safety of Micro- Rexton.

19 18

srinath.gunaratne Thursday, 11 April 2013 12:25 PM

Love your life, Wear Seat belt

0 36

DHA Thursday, 11 April 2013 10:52 AM

A small basic error....just it takes 2 min to wear a seat belt......he still would've been living......sad.....

2 194

Bushel Perera Thursday, 11 April 2013 12:28 PM

Authority should reveal the real cause for it to skid so others could refrain from making such mistakes.

1 17

Rajiv D Thursday, 11 April 2013 12:40 PM

This is asking Dhall ! it's the fault of the Driver hence we can only say RIP now.

3 13

Jodi Thursday, 11 April 2013 12:41 PM

An idiot for not wearing his safety belt, he could have killed others on the the road too. A lesson to all.

4 19

Suq Madique Thursday, 11 April 2013 12:46 PM

So sad. Some are too macho to wear seat-belts and they pay for their lives for this vanity.

2 76

Rasa Thursday, 11 April 2013 12:55 PM

We Sri Lankans have time to enjoy our driving a nd fulfilling our social obligations. So, drive carefully and following the rules. There is no rush for anything to get into situations like this.

0 25

The Old Man Thursday, 11 April 2013 12:59 PM

may his soul RIP and may god bless the Injured to recover fast. must be traveling for the New Year. poor souls.

1 20

Road Runner Thursday, 11 April 2013 01:06 PM

Our president wants to increase speed limit. Reconsider. Lots of drivers think not wearing belt is a brave act against Police but actually they fool themselves.

3 43

Rohitha Thursday, 11 April 2013 02:37 PM

MR tell your son to take a note of it.

3 14

Somapala Thursday, 11 April 2013 02:47 PM

Ayyo, lankaawa badu

21 27

don Thursday, 11 April 2013 03:09 PM

It's the make of the car. Not all are road tested.

11 4

MJ Thursday, 11 April 2013 03:33 PM

This road skids... It happened to me too. I was going at 70Km/h
I was lucky. Should take extra care when driving on this. Check our tyres etc..

4 16

moda pissa Thursday, 11 April 2013 03:36 PM

Don't rush to conclusions, Visakia, just because you have an axe to grind against locally assembled vehicles. If the vehicle hit the railing as reported, maybe the driver fell asleep at the wheel ? Or maybe he braked hard to avoid hitting a mongoose or something ? But then, all these modern vehicles has anti-skid braking systems.

6 23

Francis Thursday, 11 April 2013 03:35 PM

Thanks to H.E. For the advice

1 15

weera Thursday, 11 April 2013 03:53 PM

Super Highways + fast vehicles + speeding = Death

9 12

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