A drink-driver, who was behind the wheel of a car that careered off the road killing his wife, has been sentenced to two years behind bars by the High Criminal Court.
The Khaleeji couple had come to Bahrain on a pleasure trip, according to the defendant, who stated they were visiting ‘to have a fun time’ when it suddenly turned to tragedy.
The 42-year-old husband had set out hurriedly from their hotel in the Seef District after receiving news that his father had been taken seriously ill, the court heard.
In the early hours of November 1, he crashed his car into a metal barrier and a street sign. The vehicle somersaulted landing roof-first on to a sidewalk between two traffic lanes.
He was found guilty of the manslaughter of his 46-year-old passenger wife, Hanan AlMutairi, who suffered severe head injuries in the accident.
The Saudi man was also convicted of public intoxication, causing damage to property owned by the state, driving in a way that threatened lives and property.
He admitted to being drunk and causing his wife’s death, having embarked on an unplanned journey home.
A blood test revealed a blood alcohol level of 0.171 per cent, which typically leads to ‘profound impairment of physical and mental capabilities, extreme nausea, and potential blackouts’.
“The accusations against me are true,” he earlier told the Public Prosecution. “I came to Bahrain with my wife to have a fun time. At 4am, I got a call from family back home that my father was in a bad health condition, so we got in the car to go back to Saudi.
“I was looking at Google Maps. I took a wrong turn so I decided to carefully make a turn to go back to the right path. But fate made it so there was an accident.
“I lost consciousness, and woke up to an ambulance rushing me and my wife to hospital. She died, and I broke my hand.”
Court documents state that the man lost control of his vehicle, colliding into a metal barrier, crashing into a sidewalk, road sign, as well as decorative palm trees planted between two roads near Bahrain City Centre. The vehicle ‘settled on its roof’, landing upside-down, the traffic report stated.
In addition to the two-year prison sentence, judges also ruled to deport the defendant after the completion of his jail term.
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