KILINOCHCHI, Sri Lanka — A 32-year-old mother was killed Sunday when a motorcycle ridden by a youth, allegedly performing dangerous stunts on a public road, struck her motorcycle head-on in Kilinochchi district, in Sri Lanka's Northern Province, police said.
The victim, identified as Kagitha Shanmugam, was riding from Uruthirapuram toward Karadipokku to pick up her 7-year-old daughter from school when the crash occurred on the road connecting the two towns.
Witnesses described the impact as horrific. She died at the scene. The youth whose motorcycle struck hers sustained critical injuries and was admitted to Kilinochchi District General Hospital for intensive treatment, police said. Kilinochchi Police said an investigation was underway.
Witnesses said a group of young riders had been traveling at extremely high speeds along the Uruthirapuram-Karadipokku road, performing stunts in a manner residents said posed a serious danger to other road users. One of the motorcycles in the group lost control and crossed into oncoming traffic, striking Ms. Kagitha Shanmugam head-on as she rode in the opposite direction, witnesses said.
The crash renewed longstanding concerns in the Northern Province about reckless riding by young men on high-powered motorcycles, which residents and local activists say authorities have failed to adequately regulate.
High-end sports-style motorcycles — including the Yamaha MT-15 and Yamaha R15, models valued at more than 1.5 million Sri Lankan rupees — have become increasingly common in Kilinochchi and neighboring Mullaitivu district in recent years, residents say, in part because many families there receive remittances from relatives living abroad. Residents said some young riders regularly use public roads for dangerous speeding and stunt riding, sometimes to film videos for social media platforms, including TikTok.
The death of Ms. Kagitha Shanmugam prompted widespread grief online, intensified after family members and friends shared posts from her Facebook page, which was largely devoted to photographs and messages about her daughter.
Among those who mourned her publicly was Sri Lankan filmmaker Mathi Sutha, who described her as a close relative. In a Facebook post written in Tamil, he recalled carrying her as a child during wartime displacement and said the two had grown estranged in recent years. He expressed regret that they had not reconciled before her death.
Mr. Mathi Sutha is the younger brother of Shanthan, a Sri Lankan Tamil who was convicted in India in connection with the 1991 assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Shanthan was released from prison after decades but died before he could return to Sri Lanka.
In his post, Mr. Mathi Sutha also condemned drunk and reckless drivers. "They drink wanting to die — then why do they drive?" he wrote, accusing Sri Lanka's legal system of repeatedly failing victims of dangerous driving.
Road accidents involving motorcycles are a leading cause of death in Sri Lanka, particularly among young men. Residents and activists in the Northern Province have repeatedly called for stricter enforcement of traffic laws, including against speeding and dangerous riding near schools and residential areas.
