Dubai: Two Emirati students have been detained provisionally for allegedly racing in their sport utility vehicles (SUV) in a residential area and causing a man's death.
The students, S.A. and R.A., are being questioned about allegedly modifying their SUVs' engines to increase their speeds, racing in Al Khawaneej at 130km/hr and accidentally causing a 32-year-old Emirati man's death, according to Salah Bu Farousha, Head of Dubai Traffic Public Prosecution,
Horrific
"We are very strict and inflexible when we have deaths resulting from dangerous and horrific accidents such as this one… that's why we have placed the suspects, both 19, under provisional detention. We won't waive any effort to preserve the safety of road users and their properties as well," said Chief Traffic Prosecutor Bu Farousha.
Bu Farousha and traffic prosecutor Yousuf Al Zarouni, who conducted the onsite investigations, revealed that the accident apparently happened due to reckless and inattentive driving and racing in a residential area at 12:05am on Sunday/Monday.
"The suspects were believed to be racing in a residential area and drove at a speed of 130km/hr which exceeded the street's speed limit of 60km/hr… our onsite inspection revealed that the SUV's engines had been modified for speeding purposes. R.A. was driving in front of S.A. When the victim drove out from one of the exits and travelled straight down the two-way road, R.A. swerved to the opposite lane… S.A. hit his breaks for nearly 50 metres before his SUV smashed the rear side of the victim's car," explained Bu Farousha.
The Traffic Public Prosecution handed over the victim's body to his family on Monday.
Panel
"We asked the traffic technical committee to prepare a special report about the accident. We also asked Dubai Police's mechanical workshop to inspect the modifications in the SUVs' engines," he added.
The chief traffic prosecutor said yesterday's accident is categorised as ‘extremely dangerous'.
"We treat suspects involved in such accidents very sternly. Under the directives of Dubai Attorney General Essam Eisa Al Humaidan, we aim to reduce the number of such dangerous accidents which lead to undesirable consequences," Bu Farousha said.
