Two Filipino cyclists were killed after being struck from behind by a hit-and-run driver who fled the scene leaving two other cyclists badly injured, the High Criminal Court heard yesterday.
Four friends of the Laspag Cycling Group were riding on Zallaq Highway at dawn on the second day of Eid when the incident happened.
The defendant, a 29-year-old unemployed Bahraini, is on trial at the High Criminal Court accused of vehicular manslaughter, reckless driving and not aiding the victims despite being able to.
He also faces charges of possessing methamphetamine and damaging the victims’ property: their bicycles.
“On March 21 at 5.55am, the defendant hit the back of the first and second bikes, pushing them into the emergency lane on the right,” read the Public Prosecution’s summary of the accident.
“His vehicle then continued forward, striking the body of the victim, which hit the bonnet and the windshield, and he flew through the air, with his body ultimately settling in the right lane.”
Two cyclists at the rear of the group were thrown a distance by the impact, while the pair in front fell under the wheels of the vehicle sustaining fatal injuries.
According to medical reports, the 46-year-old victim suffered from skull fractures and lacerations to the back of his scalp, while the 61-year-old’s shoulder, leg, neck and skull were broken.
During Public Prosecution questioning, the 29-year-old defendant stated that he left his Hamad Town home earlier that day after an argument with his dad.
“I was driving around and headed to Zallaq Highway,” he testified.
“I was smoking and my cigarette fell as I was taking a turn. I looked down to pick it up, and when I lifted my head, I suddenly noticed people on bikes in front of me.”
“I hit them and they were propelled across the road. I saw a person bleeding on the ground and I got scared, so I ran away. I went to Malikiya Beach and left my car there.”
“I walked home that afternoon and told my family what happened, and I was arrested the next day and told the authorities where the car was.”
The defendant went on to admit that he had snorted meth, or shabu, two days before the incident.
Medical documents attached in the court files revealed that the man was hospitalised in the psychiatric ward after he was arrested, claiming to have heard ‘voices’ in his head telling him to kill himself.
A report from the Psychiatric Hospital stated that he was admitted for suicidal thoughts but that his claims about voices proved to be untrue upon evaluation.
On March 29, the GDN reported that the Filipino community in Bahrain mourned the loss of two victims, Francisco Abatayo Delostrico and Mario Valdez.
Mr Delostrico, better known as ‘Franz’, a 62-year-old mechanic, had been working in Bahrain for many years, his friends said.
Mr Valdez, 47, was a private chauffeur.
Community leader Ric Advincula said the tragedy had deeply shaken the tight-knit Filipino diaspora.
“These were four friends enjoying a healthy activity in safe weather conditions. What happened to them is heartbreaking for all of us,” he told the GDN.
Early morning weekend rides are a popular activity along Zallaq Highway.
A poignant video has been released on the cycling group’s social media page, showing the late friends, both keen and experienced cyclists, pursuing their fitness hobby on two wheels, headlined ‘Ride in Peace, Brothers’.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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