Ajman: The family of a victim of a deadly car crash at a McDonald’s outlet in Ajman on Sunday night has spoken of their loss, describing a tragic chain of events leading up to her death.
The Indian woman, 45, was killed on the spot as an Emirati driver, 22, crashed his four-wheel-drive vehicle through the restaurant’s glass facade after reportedly suffering an epileptic attack, Ajman Police said. During the seizure, he involuntarily stepped on the vehicle’s accelerator, sending the car flying through the glass.
An Arab child aged nine was also killed. The accident, which occurred at a McDonald’s at an Eppco petrol station in Al Hamidiya area, injured three children and two adults as well.
Mohammad Rafi, who identified himself as the brother of the woman killed, told Gulf News it was only the third day of her visit to the UAE when tragedy struck. The woman’s grandson was one of the injured and is being treated at Shaikh Khalifa Hospital in Ajman, where her body was taken.
The woman was with her daughter, son-in-law and grandson at McDonald’s after a visit to Ajman Speciality General Hospital next door, Rafi added. The family is from the southern Indian state of Kerala.
“Her son-in-law was placing an order at the cashier’s. Her daughter had gone to the washroom. Her grandson had just returned from the washroom and had taken a seat at the table with his grandmother when the car rammed into them,” Rafi said.
He added: “My brother-in-law and I were in Dibba when I got a call from her son-in-law saying we needed to come to Ajman as something had happened. I wasn’t told all the details, including the fact that she had passed away, so I could drive back safely,” he added.
The woman’s husband, Othman, was too distraught to talk. Her son-in-law had left the hospital when Gulf News visited on Monday afternoon.
“My sister’s body is in the hospital morgue. Her grandson is hurt but out of danger. I cannot say more.”
Several loved ones gathered around the family, consoling them and whispering to each other.
Meanwhile at McDonald’s, cleaners were clearing up the blood stains, shattered glass, and broken furniture in the wake of the fatal crash. A man who identified himself as a manager declined to comment.
The area around the accident site was sealed off while the clean-up took place. Some motorists who had pulled into the Eppco station apparently had no idea of the incident and approached the front door, assuming it was open for business.
Tributes for the victims and those injured have been pouring in on social media, including calls for protective railings or barriers to be installed in front of windows at such locations to prevent similar incidents.
@Abdulkarimhanif tweeted: “Tragic incident in Ajman with a car driving into McDonalds, maybe bigger barriers on pavements could make it safer?”
Last March, four members of a family were hurt when a car crashed through a fast-food restaurant at an Ajman petrol station, after the driver accidentally hit the accelerator.
In July 2013, three people were killed after an out-of-control car, driven by a young man under the influence of alcohol, smashed through the front window of a Dubai restaurant.
