Man denies killing woman

Dubai: A tradesman has denied mowing down and killing a woman.

The 26-year-old Emirati tradesman, U.A., dismissed the charge of premeditated murder when he appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance yesterday. It is alleged he killed the 52-year-old British woman, C.W., after she stepped out of a cab on Airport Road.

Public Prosecution records revealed U.A. reportedly drove his Hummer onto the pavement where C.W. stood, and mowed her down. He has also been charged with attempting to kill her husband, 54-year-old British male project manager and a 33-year-old Australian male operations manager. Records said the two men escaped near death but sustained injuries.

A Dubai police captain testified U.A. turned himself in after police failed to find him.

The suspect claimed, during investigations, he could not avoid hitting the cab which had stopped in the right lane... he alleged when he rammed the taxi and went on the pavement a number of Europeans walked towards him and yelled at him ... he claimed he got frightened and drove away not noticing and unaware he had mowed down a woman, said the police captain.

The victim's husband testified when they stepped out of the taxi, U.A. mowed him down. Then the suspect drove over his wife's body. The cab driver maintained he used his emergency lights when he stopped.