Dubai: Investigations have revealed the driver of a truck, involved in May’s horrific accident that resulted in 13 deaths, had parked his vehicle precariously the night before.

Some 13 Bangladeshi and Indian workers were killed and 14 others injured after the bus carrying them to their worksite in Jebel Ali slammed into the back of the truck on Emirates Road at 6.25am on May 10. Prosecutors are seeking a seven-year jail term for both the truck and bus driver.

The 45-year-old Pakistani truck driver and his 26-year-old countryman bus driver have been accused of accidentally causing the deaths of 13 people due to their reckless and inattentive driving that resulted in an accident that traffic prosecutors described as “horrendous and devastating.”

“The 45-year-old driver failed to adhere to or apply the required safety road measures. He parked the truck in an unsafe manner at 8pm the night before the accident and did not even notify the police about it.

"We have asked the Dubai Traffic Misdemeanours Court to implement the toughest punishment applicable [seven years in jail] against the two suspects,” Senior Chief Prosecutor Salah Bu Farousha, Head of Dubai Traffic Public Prosecution (TPP), told Gulf News on Tuesday.

The TPP has accused the defendants of accidentally causing the 13 deaths and 14 injuries and wrecking the truck and the bus due to their recklessness.

Prosecutors are seeking up to a seven-year jail term for the drivers, as per the Penal Law and Traffic Law. They are also seeking Dh2.6 million to be paid in blood money to the victims’ families.

“Prosecutor Rashid Obaid Al Gamlasi carried out the investigations and which have revealed that the 26-year-old driver lost control over his bus [carrying 27 passengers] and veered off to the right following a sudden malfunction.

"The 26-year-old admitted that his bus rammed into the rear side of the heavy truck that was parked on the hard shoulder. Meanwhile the 45-year-old confessed that he parked his vehicle on the hard shoulder at 8pm the previous night following a sudden malfunction in the braking system,” said Bu Farousha.

The Pakistani suspects are expected to stand trial soon.

Prosecution records showed that the accident occurred near Exit 50 in the Abu Dhabi direction of the highway, near Al Ruwaiyah flyover.

In a previous statement, Bu Farousha said the truck driver claimed that his brakes had failed and he was forced to pull over on the right shoulder and place a fire extinguisher behind his vehicle as a warning sign.

TPP heard witnesses’ statements and reviewed technical reports by Dubai Police’s traffic experts.

Bu Farousha called on bus and truck drivers to always abide by traffic laws and regulations to avoid liability.