TRAGEDY STRIKES GAMPOLA: Three Elderly Women Killed After Car Slams into Pilgrims on Poya Day

Gampola, Sri Lanka — A profound tragedy cast a shadow over Vap Poya Day in Gampola today (October 6), as three elderly women observing Sil (Buddhist precepts) were instantly killed when they were struck by a speeding car in the Doluwa area. A fourth woman was critically injured and rushed to Kandy National Hospital.

The victims were identified as Ramnayaka Mudiyanselage Podi Menike (70), Malini Wijesooriya (67), and Pallegedara Anulawathie (of Gurukale, Gampola). All three were residents of the Doluwa area and had been attending religious observances at the Sri Bimbarama Viharaya throughout the holy day.

The Sequence of the Tragic Accident

The incident occurred tragically around 1:30 PM, shortly after the elderly women had completed their midday meal. The four women were reportedly walking along the edge of the main road, making their way to the external sanitation facilities outside the temple premises when the disaster unfolded.

Police preliminary investigations suggest the cause of the accident was the careless driving of the woman behind the wheel of the motor car.

The car, travelling from behind, is reported to have first struck the four women, before crashing into a stationary lorry parked nearby, and finally coming to rest against an embankment. The women were severely crushed, trapped between the out-of-control car and the lorry. Three victims succumbed to their injuries at the scene.

Driver’s Error: Mistaking Accelerator for Brake

Further police investigations have revealed a shocking detail regarding the driver of the car:

• The driver, a 36-year-old woman, was the holder of a Learner’s Permit (puhuṇuwanan riya balapathrayak).
• She had travelled to Gampola town with her husband and two children, with her husband initially driving the vehicle.
• However, the husband had reportedly allowed his wife to take the wheel near the temple.

Initial findings suggest that the woman, who was still learning to drive, tragically mistook the accelerator for the brake pedal, causing the car to surge forward uncontrollably at high speed and collide with the elderly pilgrims walking along the road.

The force of the impact pushed the lorry onto the road, while the car itself hit an embankment.

The driver was taken to the hospital following the accident and has since been taken into police custody. Further investigations are ongoing into the full circumstances of the catastrophic incident.

The loss of three lives on a revered Poya Day, especially of elderly women engaged in devotion, has sent shockwaves through the local Doluwa community, highlighting the devastating consequences of inexperience and driver error on public roads.