A delivery rider, who recklessly drove on a crosswalk triggering a series of events that killed three pedestrians on Sehla Avenue, has lost his appeal in court.
In April, the expat was found guilty of manslaughter, and was sentenced to seven years in prison. Judges ordered that the Bangladeshi be deported upon completion of his sentence.
The three victims, cooks from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, were walking home after finishing their shift at a nearby branch of a local chain restaurant when tragedy struck.
The court heard that the accident took place in the early hours of March 14, and the appellant claimed that he was ‘rushing home to eat Suhoor’ – a meal that Muslims eat during Ramadan before the start of the day’s fast.
As he was taking the shortcut, the appellant reportedly got in the path of a car, whose driver swerved to the side to avoid hitting the motorcyclist. The Bahraini motorist instead veered into the left lane, fatally colliding with three bystanders.
The appellant was convicted of seven charges including causing the victims’ wrongful death, inflicting disabling injuries on the man driving the car, and also injuring three passengers.
He was found guilty of three hit-and-run-related charges: not stopping to aid the victims, despite having the ability to, and not reporting the accident to emergency services.
He was also found guilty of property damage, driving in a direction opposite to traffic, and posing a threat to lives, property, and to the safety of pedestrians utilising the sidewalk.
The Bangladeshi delivery worker took to the Supreme Criminal Appeals Court to contest the sentence, but judges rejected his appeal.
The GDN earlier reported that the Bahraini who was driving the car was initially the main suspect in the case, but he was cleared of charges after investigators found that the appellant was there.
Authorities diligently reviewed CCTV footage from security cameras at the scene, and were able to track the motorcycle and where it was headed, ultimately identifying and arresting the appellant.
The victims, 43-year-old Sundor Miah from Bangladesh and 38-year-old Muhammad Idrees from Pakistan, died immediately, while 24-year-old Mir Emdadul Islam from India succumbed to his wounds four hours later.
Mr Miah’s injuries were gruesome – the coroner recorded in his autopsy that the accident shattered his skull and caused a deep wound in his abdomen, out of which a 30cm portion of his intestines had spilled.
As for the Bahraini driver, he suffered fractures to his jaw, spine, hips and legs, undergoing a series of emergency surgeries.
The Bangladeshi, who was unscathed in the incident, admitted to charges, but denied fleeing the scene or committing a hit-and-run.
He testified that he was leaving Jeblat Habshi and heading to the restaurant he worked for in Ain Al Dar. To ‘save time’, he took the zebra crossing as a shortcut, as he wanted to have a meal before ‘fajr’ prayers and the beginning of the fast.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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