Five-Year-Old Tragically Dies After Being Hit by Van While Playing Outside Home

 A five-year-old child, who was playing joyfully with his siblings in front of his house, has tragically lost his life after being hit by a van. Maligawatta Police stated that the five-year-old child, a resident of the Maligawatta apartment complex in Colombo 10, died in this accident.

The child, who was the third of four children in the family, was playing in front of his house with his elder sister and other siblings when the accident occurred.

Preliminary police investigations revealed that the child suddenly ran towards a side road and was hit by a van traveling along Kalaimagal Street from Milton Perera Mawatha.

Although only minor scratches were externally visible on the child's body at the time of the accident, the child vomited blood. The van driver immediately took the child to Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children in Colombo. The child, identified as Thalagalage Niwen Minnaas, passed away on the 23rd while receiving inpatient treatment in the special treatment unit of Ward No. 20 at the hospital.

Police have arrested a 50-year-old resident of Kadirana, Mattakkuliya, Colombo 15, who was driving the van involved in the incident. Forensic medical examinations and police investigations confirmed that he had not consumed alcohol or drugs at the time of the accident. Under the instructions of Maligawatta Police OIC Chief Inspector T.B.S. Kalyanathunga, a team of officers including Traffic Division OIC Sub-Inspector Manju Prasanna and Police Constable (100009) Avishka are conducting further investigations into the matter.