Woman given jail for girls' death

Sharjah: The Sharjah Sharia court has sentenced a woman to two months in jail and Dh400,000 blood money for killing two female university students in a traffic accident in March, Gulf News has learnt.

According to court documents the Arab woman was ordered to pay Dh200,000 to each of her victim's parents. The woman is also facing two months in jail for reckless driving and speeding.

The horrific incident happened on March 12 when the two girls, Mariam, 19, and Mitthi, 21, were crossing the road at Buhairah Corniche. They were suddenly hit by a speeding vehicle driven by a woman which, according to Sharjah Police, was travelling at speeds of more than 120 kilometres per hour on a road that had a 80km speed limit.

Killed instantly

Mitthi was killed on the spot while Mariam died later at night in the hospital.

Mariam and Mitthi, who both studied at Manipal University in Dubai, had earlier been forced off of their university bus because they did not have their bus ID and the driver had refused to take them home.

The two girls had been collected from home in the morning by the same bus driver.

The girls managed to get another bus driver who agreed to drop them off near Al Majaz Park, which is about a 25-minute walk from their home.

A judicial source said the woman has appealed the two months jail sentence.