One person died while another 13 persons have been wounded and hospitalised after a van had crashed into a lorry stopped on the side of the Southern Expressway near the 17.2km Post in the Millaniya area.
The 28-year-old driver of the lorry, a resident of Amarakeerthi Gama in Karandeniya, was killed in the accident while most of the injured are females.
The lorry driver had been transporting several items of a house towards Galle along the expressway when he had decided to stop on the roadside due to an urgent need to relieve himself.
The driver was standing beside the lorry when the van in question, transporting a group of persons returning after attending a religious event, heading towards Matugama had crashed into the back of the lorry.
The driver had died after being caught between the lorry and the guard rail on the expressway.
The injured passengers of the van have been admitted to Nagoda and Horana hospitals while several of them including a female are said to be in critical condition.
The driver of the van has also been admitted to the Horana Base Hospital for medical treatment, police said.
Police believe that careless driving by the van driver and the dangerous manner in which the lorry had been parked by its driver had resulted in this accident.
