Mithum, the son of the famous athlete, who passed away with his girlfriend in a bike accident in Italy

A tragic road accident in Milan, Italy, recently reported the heartbreaking news of the death of a young man of Sri Lankan origin and an Italian national woman, believed to be his girlfriend. This fatal accident occurred in the early hours of March 21st, between 3:30 AM and 3:50 AM, after midnight between Friday, March 20th and Saturday, March 21st, at the intersection of Viale Campania and Viale Corsica in the eastern part of Milan.

The victims of this accident are 23-year-old Mithum Sandeepa Perera Kuranage, a Sri Lankan youth residing in Capannori, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy, and 20-year-old Elisa Teodora Dranca, an Italian national of Romanian origin residing in Locate Triulzi, Milan. This unfortunate incident was reported when the high-powered motorcycle they were traveling on collided with a taxi.

At the time of the accident, Mithum was riding a green Kawasaki Ninja 650 high-powered motorcycle. According to preliminary investigations conducted by the Milan local police and traffic division, Mithum was driving his motorcycle at a very high speed along Viale Campania, heading south towards Piazzale Corvetto. At that moment, the traffic light system at the intersection was functioning correctly, and the red light was illuminated for the direction the motorcycle was traveling. However, the motorcycle, failing to control its speed or obey the red signal, rapidly entered the intersection. Simultaneously, the motorcycle collided extremely violently with a taxi that was correctly proceeding from Corso XXII Marzo towards Viale Forlanini and Linate airport under a green light.

The force of this collision was so severe that the taxi, driven by a 61-year-old man, overturned near a tram stop on the side of the road. The nature of the accident was so violent that a high-powered motorcycle colliding with a car caused it to overturn, and upon impact, the young couple, Mithum and Elisa, who were on the motorcycle, were thrown several meters away and landed on the road. Within minutes of the accident, 118 emergency ambulance services and medical teams, police, and firefighters arrived at the scene. However, by then, the young couple's hearts had stopped beating, and all attempts by medical teams to revive them were unsuccessful due to the severe injuries and trauma sustained throughout their bodies. It was thus confirmed that both of them died at the scene of the accident. The taxi driver, who suffered shock and minor injuries, was admitted to Policlinico Hospital under a yellow code, and his condition is reported to be not serious.

Police are currently examining CCTV footage related to the accident and dash-cam footage from the taxi, and these visuals have further confirmed that the motorcycle running the red light was the main cause of the accident. Elisa Teodora, who died in this tragedy, was a young woman who celebrated her 20th birthday on February 9th. She was working at a store in Scalo Milano and was saving money to pursue a degree in marketing at Cattolica University next year. On the night of the accident, she had attended a birthday party with her friends at a place called Cobà in the Navigli area. She was hoping to go home before nightfall as she had to report to work at 10:00 AM the next day.

On the other hand, the deceased Mithum Sandeepa was an ambitious young man who had arrived in Milan from Capannori, Lucca, last January with the aim of building his future, working two jobs: at a real estate agency during weekdays and as a barman on weekends. Mithum and Elisa had met about a week prior through Elisa's friend, Anna, and the day of the accident was only their second time meeting each other. That night, Mithum finished his work around 2:00 AM, went by motorcycle to meet Elisa, and then they had hamburgers together. Mithum was taking Elisa home on his motorcycle when they faced this unfortunate fate. The last text message Elisa sent to her friend Anna before the accident, stating "Remember that I love you and will love you forever," brought tears to many eyes.

Mithum Sandeepa, who died in this accident, was not just an ordinary young man, but the eldest son of Manura Lanka Kuranage, a talented athlete who brought fame to Sri Lanka. Manura Lanka is an outstanding athlete who represented Sri Lanka at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, and contributed to setting a Sri Lankan national record by defeating all of Asia in the 400-meter relay event. Together with athletes Rohan Pradeep Kumara, V. Ratnakumar, and Ranga Wimalawansa, Manura Lanka brought about a massive revolution in Sri Lankan athletics at that time. His excellence is clearly evident from the discussions among sports enthusiasts back then, who would say, "Manura was kept separately for the relay. Because he was special for it." However, Mithum's father, Manura Lanka, and other family members (his mother and his brother, who had visited Sri Lanka with Mithum about three months prior) have been permanently residing in Italy for many years.