A tourist has been found guilty of killing a man whose car had stalled in the emergency lane on King Fahad Causeway, and fleeing the scene.
The High Criminal Court sentenced the man to two years in prison and fined him BD3,000 for vehicular manslaughter, drunk driving and on four other charges.
Saudi Meshari Abdulrahman Al Hadheera, aged 45, died on the spot following the hit-and-run on August 28 this year.
The court heard that the 34-year-old Saudi convict had an alcohol level of 109 milligrams per litre, which typically leads to a “clear deterioration in judgement, co-ordination and reaction time”.
It was 4am, and the man was reportedly driving at 110kmph when he struck one of two cars parked on the side of the causeway, and Mr Al Hadheera was crushed between the two vehicles.
Judges convicted the defendant on six charges, including not stopping to aid the victim after the collision, and not reporting the incident to authorities.
He was further charged and found guilty of driving under the influence, causing an accident while drunk, reckless driving and posing a danger to the lives of pedestrians.
In a video recording of the accident, the victim was seen standing beside two cars in the yellow emergency lane, with both the vehicles having activated their hazard lights.
Two people are seen standing near the door of the front vehicle, the video showed, and there were three people inside the car behind it.
“A Ford vehicle was seen approaching very fast, and collided with the left side of the front vehicle, but the Ford’s driver kept moving forward,” read a description of the footage.
“The car in the front was pushed into the pedestrian bridge, and the one behind it hit its bumper, leading the victim to be stuck between both cars.”
Another Saudi, a 26-year-old, who was standing near the victim was injured.
The defendant denied the charges in Public Prosecution questioning, claiming that Mr Al Hadheera had suddenly opened the door of his vehicle and stepped on to the street.
He claimed that he tried to avoid the victim, but ended up hitting him, and kept driving due to fear, but had to stop after the right front wheel of his vehicle gave out.
The Ford Crown Victoria stopped 1km from the site of the fatal accident, and the defendant was arrested as he tried to cross the causeway on foot.
Mr Al Hadheera’s body was handed over to his family after an autopsy and his funeral took place the following day in Dammam, although he was originally from a small Saudi village located just 80km from the Red Sea.
This trial is among a series of cases now being heard in the High Criminal Court instead of the Lower Criminal Court, as new amendments have been introduced to the law to impose harsher sentences on those responsible for fatal car accidents.
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