A reckless driver who consumed one-and-a-half bottles of alcohol before getting behind the wheel caused a fatal head-on collision after veering into the opposite lane.
The 20-year-old Bahraini was sentenced to three years in prison by the High Criminal Court, which convicted him of vehicular manslaughter, driving under the influence of alcohol, damaging public and private property, and four additional related charges.
The crash claimed the life of 38-year-old Bangladeshi national Rahi Ahmed Farouq, who was seated in the passenger side of a pick-up truck struck by the defendant’s vehicle.
Mr Farouq’s autopsy report confirmed that he died in hospital after sustaining severe abdominal injuries in the crash.
Three other men suffered serious injuries in the accident, including complex fractures and internal bleeding.
The injured included the pick-up truck’s driver and a backseat passenger, both Indian nationals, as well as a 49-year-old Bahraini motorist driving a luxury car.
The young defendant testified that he had consumed large quantities of alcohol and was driving to a well-known Saudi restaurant in Tubli when, due to a lapse in attention, he veered onto the left side of the road and crashed into the rear of a luxury car.
With that car forced off to the side, the suspect’s vehicle continued forward towards the pavement dividing the roadway from oncoming traffic, the Public Prosecution said. The defendant then crossed into the right lane of the opposite carriageway, where he collided head-on with the pick-up truck that was travelling in his path.
The vehicle then continued forward and crashed into a metal railing.
Although the driver initially stopped at the scene, he drove away, eventually coming to a halt approximately 200 metres from the site of the collision.
“I stopped the car and came walking to the site of the crash, where I lost consciousness,” the Bahraini stated.
“I woke up in Salmaniya Medical Complex, and was taken to the Police Fort Clinic, where officers wanted to measure my blood alcohol level.”
The pick-up driver, an Indian man, suffered trauma to his liver and spleen, internal bleeding in his lower abdomen, and life-threatening blunt force injuries to his intestines. He also suffered from fractures in his hip socket and one of his ribs. A medical report stated that he has since been treated and his condition has stabilised.
Another Indian, aged 50, who was sitting in the back of the pick-up, was similarly battered, with the accident causing fractures in his pelvis.
The 49-year-old Bahraini driver sustained injuries, including two broken ribs, a fractured humerus, and severe damage to his right foot, which suffered a deep ankle wound. On top of the three-year prison sentence, High Criminal Court judges fined the defendant BD100 for property damage.
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