The police suspect that the person driving the Mercedes-Benz that caused a fatal accident in Kollupitiya last Saturday (October 10) has fled the country.
Reports said he has business interests in Dubai and left the country on the same day after his involvement in the hit-and-run accident. Police are checking with the Immigration Department to ascertain the veracity of the claim that he had actually fled the country.
The accident took place at around 6 a.m. that day near the Kollupitiya Swarnavahini media office. A 58-year-old three-wheeler driver who sustained serious injuries in the accident died on admission to the National Hospital. At the time of the accident, four people, including three women, were travelling in the car, and the police observed that they were drunk. It has been revealed that they were on their way back from a nightclub in Kollupitiya, and the police suspect that the driver was also drunk.
The driver of the crashed Mercedes Benz CBH 9538 has been identified as 26-year-old Mohammed Rishad Mohammed Raisul, a resident of 10 Dewanampiyatissa Mawatha, Colombo. He also has a friend who does business in Dubai. Information has now been received that this person travelled to Dubai on the same day of the accident, and steps are being taken to verify that information. However, by now, the police have obtained an order preventing him from going overseas.
