KDU bus accident: driver had prior alcohol-related offense & license suspended

It has come to light in court today that the bus driver involved in the recent fatal accident in Badulla, which resulted in the deaths of two female students from the Southern Campus of the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU), had a prior driving license suspension due to driving under the influence of alcohol.

The driver had been arrested on August 4 in the Labuduwa area of Galle for causing an accident while driving a bus that collided with a motorcycle. He was subsequently fined fifty-five thousand rupees and had his driving license suspended for five months after being produced before the Galle Additional Magistrate's Court on August 6.

Details of this prior incident were presented today (November 5) by the Akmeemana Police to the Galle Additional Magistrate’s Court as part of a motion concerning the recent accident.

The driver, a resident of the Udugama Dammala area, had reported his driving license as lost to the Hiniduma Police and obtained a replacement license during the suspension period. The court revealed that he possessed this replacement license at the time of the fatal accident.

Considering this information, Galle Additional Magistrate Lakmini Gamage ordered that the replacement driving license be temporarily held in court custody and not returned to the driver.

The tragic accident occurred on November 1, when the bus carrying KDU students toppled across the road, injuring 40 others in addition to the fatalities. Dash cam footage has emerged, showing the bus speeding shortly before the incident took place.