Man arrested for driving in wrong direction on Southern Expressway

Colombo, December 19 (Daily Mirror) - A man was arrested by the expressway police yesterday for driving a vehicle in the wrong direction on the Southern Expressway (E01), the Expressway Operation, Maintenance and Management Division said.

A senior official of the division said that a car heading towards Kottawa from Mattala, carrying a mentally disabled person for treatment, stopped at the Southern Expressway Service Area in Welipenna for the person driving the vehicle to use the restroom.

Soon after the driver had exited the car to use the restroom, the mentally disabled person had driven the car, along with the family members, towards Matara in the wrong direction on the expressway, causing significant danger to other motorists.

The car travelled approximately five kilometres towards Matara in the wrong direction. Later, the expressway police at the Kurundugahahethekma Interchange stopped the car and took the driver into custody.

After investigating the situation, the police released the car and advised the driver to seek immediate medical treatment for the patient.

No accidents had occurred during the incident, police said.