Double trouble for motor accident victim
By Kurulu Kariyakarawana
As pedestrians the amount of faith one has in motorists who share the
same road is not little. The safety and the vulnerability of a person
who crosses a road may entirely lie in the hands of a trustworthy,
honest driver with a clear mindset.
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S. H. Dayaratne |
However, one bizarre incident reported last week even shook the legal
fraternity involved in that case.
It was around half past five in the morning on Saturday, January 18.
S. H. Dayaratne a 65-year-old heart patient who was advised by his
doctors to take a daily morning walk left home as usual with the
intention of buying the morning newspapers on his return. The first rays
of the rising sun could be seen on the gloomy sky over the area.
Dayaratne left his house at St. Rita's Road, Mount Lavinia and was
walking briskly across the Galle Road. Within seconds a loud noise from
a speeding vehicle being forced to stop was heard followed by a heavy
thud.
An elderly man preparing his small tea kiosk on the other side of the
Galle Road for a new day rushed out to see the cause of the loud noise.
To his amazement he saw a man being knocked down by a car which is still
in the scene. Several other bystanders who came running to the scene
found that the pedestrian was badly hit by the motor car. The person on
the ground was bleeding from the head and in some state of
unconsciousness.
Bewildered
The bystanders quickly attended to the injured man whilst asking the
driver of the vehicle to take him to the nearest hospital as soon as
possible. The driver who also seemed to be in a bewildered state had
obeyed without objection. Dayaratne had been knocked down by a car that
was travelling towards Ratmalana from Colombo on the Galle Road. Amidst
the eagerly waiting onlookers the motorist had started to travel towards
the same direction instead of taking a sharp U turn to go towards
Colombo as wished by the bystanders that the nearest hospital was the
Colombo South Teaching Hospital in Kalubowila. Instead the motorist
moved forward about hundred yards and turned into Pirivena Road on the
left and disappeared. Out of suspicion the old man in charge of the
kiosk had taken down the vehicle registration number of the yellow
colour Toyota Camry that bore the number KC 4552.
Uneasy
In the meantime Dayaratne's wife who was uneasy as her husband did
not come home usually at 6.30 am tried calling him on his mobile phone
which continued ringing without an answer. Dayaratne who underwent a
heart surgery about two weeks ago had been advised by the doctors to
take a walk in the morning to maintain his physique. Concerning this
condition the wife and the children started to panic and set off looking
for him in a trishaw. Dayaratne's wife and his son-in-law Dasun
traversed the usual route he would take whilst they were still trying
his mobile phone.
Around 7 0'clock somebody picked up the line and said that he is from
Mount Lavinia Police and that they have found the phone near the small
tea kiosk following an accident. Dayaratne's family sped to the scene of
the accident where they were told about the horrific story by the kiosk
owner.
Whilst they were putting Dayaratne into the vehicle his mobile phone
had fallen on the road which had later been picked by the man at the
kiosk. With this revelation the family had rushed to Kalubowila Hospital
with the anticipation of finding him there. But to their utter despair
Dayaratne was not at the hospital. With growing hopes of checking the
patient at Lunawa Hospital they were about to leave the hospital when a
speeding ambulance brought in Dayaratne to the Kalubowila Hospital.
The patient was immediately admitted to the Accident Service and then
transferred to the Intensive Care Unit in a critical condition. The
doctors who examined him told the family that the patient was both
externally and internally bleeding in the head which was not a good
sign. He was bleeding from his nose and mouth at the time of admission.
Due to his medical history the doctors could not give him usual medicine
that was given in a situation like that to minimise the bleeding.
Instead they had to wait for some time, depending on other alternative
drugs to pacify his condition.
In the meantime, the family learnt that Dayaratne had been picked up
lying on Hena Road off Pirivena Road, which is not very populated. A
neighbouring resident who had seen a man lying on the road had
apparently informed Police 119 and an ambulance. The family came to know
the ambulance belonged to a private company when they came for their
payment on the following day. The ambulance people told they were
informed by an unknown person about an injured man lying on the road.
When the family went to Mount Lavinia police they heard the weird
story. The driver who took Dayaratne away from the accident scene had
taken him to a by-road where he had allegedly dumped him on the road and
fled. The driver who drove off surrendered to the police through his
attorney during the latter part of the day and said when he was about to
take the patient to the hospital the patient himself had asked him to
drop him by the road saying he was feeling all right.
Because of that he had dropped him there and left the scene. But the
doctors at Kalubowila Hospital told the family that considering the
injuries he had received there was no chance of him recovering from his
state of unconsciousness that early.
Investigations
Initial police investigations revealed that the driver was working in
a senior managerial post in a leading pharmaceutical company in the
country. He was produced before Mount Lavinia Magistrate Courts on
January 18 and was ordered to be remanded until January 22.
When the case was first heard at the courts on January 22 the
attorney appearing for the victim Athula S Ranagala told the Magistrate
that this was a state which has gone far beyond the level of a normal
hit and run accident.
It is not strange how a driver would flee the scene following an
accident due to the confused state of mind or due to the fear that the
bystanders would attack him which is a common sight in Asian countries
such as Sri Lanka. But taking the patient with him and dropping him on
the road and to leave with cold blood was an entirely different act.
The Magistrate who listened to the explanation postponed the case to
January 27 and ordered the driver to be remanded. It is yet to be
determined whether the suspect was under the influence of alcohol at the
time of the accident.
Dayaratne who is a proprietor of a drug distributing agency in
Wellawatta is still being treated in a critical condition at the ICU
with a 50 percent chance of survival according to the doctors. The
agitated and distressed family members could not do much but wait with
the anticipation of seeing their father coming back.
An offender of a hit and run accident can be penalised through the
Motor Traffic Act as well as the Penal Code.
It is a must that the person has to surrender to the police with or
without a lawyer, otherwise he may be categorised as an absconding
criminal. Hit and run is considered a crime in most jurisdictions.
In 2013 only 1,193 hit and run cases have been reported countrywide
especially from outstations where speed limits are high compared to the
city limits. Out of this, 84 cases had been reported as fatal accidents.
From January 1 to 21 of 2014 two fatal hit and run cases had been
reported from Dankotuwa and Kochchikade areas. |