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A chauffeur who fatally struck a young mother with his car as she pushed her stroller across a crosswalk has been sentenced to a year in prison by the High Criminal Court.
The Bangladeshi private driver was found guilty of causing the death of Asma Saleh Abdulla, and injuring her son, Anas.
Judges ruled to deport him after completing his sentence.
The 26-year-old Yemeni woman was crossing Mahzoora Avenue in Riffa with her year-and-a-half-old son when the defendant’s car crashed into them at 3pm on November 30.
Due to the sheer force of the collision, the woman was propelled 34m forward onto the road, according to a General Directorate of Traffic report.
The defendant claimed that he was driving only at 60 to 70kmph.
The 38-year-old defendant’s vehicle also collided with the stroller, causing young Anas to fall onto the street.
An ambulance rushed to the scene, but the mother died en route to the BDF Hospital.
The driver denied all accusations, but was ultimately convicted of five charges – reckless driving, causing wrongful death, inflicting an injury on the child, property damage, and threatening the lives of pedestrians.
The orphaned boy was taken to Salmaniya Medical Complex for treatment of his mild injuries and remained under observation during his hospital stay. He was discharged the following day.
Although part of the court documents said his injuries were minor and not life-threatening, another document states that he suffered from bruises to his liver.
Meanwhile, the victim’s autopsy revealed that she had sustained skull fractures, severe internal bleeding, and multiple other injuries. Upon testing, she appeared to have had no alcohol or narcotics in her system.
The Bangladeshi defendant, too, tested negative for all sorts of intoxicants.
In a defence memo, the expat chauffeur’s lawyer blamed the deceased mother for the accident, claiming she walked in front of the suspect’s car ‘while knowing how dangerous it was’.
He also alleged that she was ‘crossing the street in a place not dedicated for pedestrians’.
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