Viral Footage of A Motor Bike Accident in Indonesia, Falsely Attributed to Hill Street, Dehiwala 

දිනපතා සත්‍ය කරුණු දැන ගැනීමට අපගේ WhatsApp සමුහයටමෙතනින් එකතුවන්න.

Motor accidents are a prevalent issue in Sri Lanka, and once in a while, scenes of horrific accidents go viral using CCTV footage. However, there is a concerning trend where foreign videos of accidents, crimes, etc., get falsely portrayed as local incidents. Let’s look at one such recent claim.

Social Media Posts

A video claim based on a short video clip stated that the horrid scenes showcased a fatal head-on motorcycle collision that occurred on Hill Street, Dehiwala, Sri Lanka, recently.

Facebook | Archived

The video went viral on WhatsApp also.

The viral clip, which appears to be a recorded scene during a street race, shows a high-speed head-on collision between a regular motorcycle rider and a motorbike street racer.

As this claim was heavily shared, we decided to check the actual facts.

Fact Check

Verification of Source Via Verification Tools: Using the Invid-We-Verify tool, we found that the fatal accident happened several days ago, on 29^th January. However, the incident is unrelated to Sri Lanka; the actual location of the tragic motorbike collision is near Bogor Regency, West Java, Indonesia. The viral clip of this tragic accident during a high-speed illegal street race was later added to several web pages, as seen here and here.

Confirmation from Indonesian Media: Indonesian media reports were consulted to corroborate the actual location and details of the tragic motorcycle collision. Indonesian media reports on the incident can be reached here, and a video report about the unfortunate accident can be found here.

As per these reports, one of the victims who died, Gunawan (34), was a regular bike rider returning home after work; he was even planning to get married the week after. The Indonesian authorities are carrying out further investigation into this illegal motor racing.

Cross-Referencing with Mainstream Media: Mainstream media outlets in Sri Lanka were searched to determine if any reports corroborated the claim. This involved checking reputable news websites, television channels, and newspapers for any coverage of a motorcycle collision on Hill Street, Dehiwala, during the specified period, which yielded no related results.

Direct Inquiry with Sri Lankan Authorities: Contact was made with the Dehiwala Police Station to verify the claim. Officials were asked if any recent tragic motorcycle accidents occurred on Hill Street, Dehiwala. They categorically denied social media posts and said no such accident happened on a recent night in Hill Street, Dehiwala.

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Conclusion

Based on the comprehensive investigation, it was concluded that the initial claim of a tragic motorcycle collision in Dehiwala, Sri Lanka, was false. The video depicted a high-speed fatal accident which happened recently in Bogor Regency, West Java, Indonesia.