Dubai: Expatriates working near the Al Barsha restaurant into which a car smashed early Friday morning killing three people, said the “dangerous bend” outside the restaurant was an accident waiting to happen.
A speeding African driver crashed his Mercedes S-Class luxury sedan into the kitchen of the Kabab Rolls Restaurant in Al Barsha 1 at around 2.40am on Friday, killing the three kitchen staff and injuring three others. The driver, who was reportedly driving under the influence, has been taken into police custody.
The restaurant was located at the corner of a building along a curved road. The speed limit on the road is 40km/h but this is hardly adhered to by motorists, residents said.
“It’s a dangerous bend, but people don’t care. They don’t even bother to slow down,” M. Sharif Awan, Operations Manager of Kabab Rolls, told Gulf News, adding there’s a big need for speedbreakers in the area.
Nanette, a receptionist in a real estate office in the same building, said motorists’ rash behaviour on the road outside their office often scares her.
Ronald, working in a hotel apartment beside the restaurant, said: “Drivers don’t slow down even when driving down the bend. They don’t follow the speed limit. It was no surprise to hear that an accident happened here. But it’s sad, really sad, as those guys didn’t do anything wrong,” he told Gulf News.
Awan said the eight restaurant staff were on their way home after closing the restaurant at about 2am. They were waiting for their transportation outside the restaurant when the accident happened. The car first hit the signpost on the pavement before smashing into the restaurant.
“If you see the footage from the security camera, the car came around the corner and smashed into the restaurant in a snap,” Awan said.
“The guy [staff] was sitting here and he yelled, ‘Run! A car is coming!’ The other four ran away. The other four didn’t have time to run. One guy was hit and he was thrown away and hit a signboard on the street. The other three were hit by the car in the abdomen and flew into the kitchen,” he added.
Awan said the concrete wall and concrete pillar crumbled and fell on them. “Their bodies were taken from under the rubble. They were hit so bad.”
Awan said the deceased were from India, Pakistan and Nepal. They were all in their early 20s and had been working with him for two to four years.
“The worst thing is they are young, unmarried people, all of them. They are excellent people. They were so friendly, very cooperative, they display teamwork, and very good people.”
Inside the kitchen, everything is shattered. Huge concrete blocks litter the floor. A makeshift cover has been installed until the restaurant can be repaired.
“If you go inside and see the mess inside the kitchen, you will think that a big trailer hit the restaurant, not a car. The car came straight inside,” Awan said.
