Three people were killed following a multi-vehicle road crash near Ferguson Junction in Mattakkuliya on the night of September 16.
The 52-year-old driver of the car involved in the collision was subsequently arrested and produced before the Colombo Magistrate’s Court, which ordered that he be remanded until September 30.
Police have reported that a medical examination conducted after the collision indicated cannabis use by the driver.
That finding forms part of the police investigation and should not, by itself, be treated as establishing the cause of the crash.
Reports concerning the accident have differed on the precise number of people injured and the number and types of other vehicles struck. Police reporting has stated that several people required hospital treatment following the collision.
According to police accounts, the car was travelling from the direction of Wattala before it went out of control near Ferguson Junction and collided with several other vehicles.
The circumstances leading to that loss of control remain under investigation.
The driver has disputed allegations concerning drug use and has reportedly raised unintended acceleration of the electric vehicle as an explanation for the collision.
That explanation is also an allegation and has not been established as the technical cause of the crash.
The court was informed that a technical examination of the vehicle would be undertaken with the involvement of the Commissioner General of Motor Traffic.
Accordingly, neither cannabis use nor a vehicle defect should presently be described as the established cause of the collision.
The remand order is a procedural decision while investigations continue and does not amount to a finding of criminal guilt.