Dubai: A driver who caused ten deaths and 49 injuries in a bus collision on Shaikh Zayed Road will spend seven years in jail, a court ruled yesterday.
The Dubai Traffic Court of First Instance ordered the 26-year-old Pakistani, identified as M.H.H., to pay Dh2 million in blood money to the families of the deceased besides a Dh10,000 fine.
Presiding judge Jasem Mohammad Ebrahim, who convicted the accused of reckless driving, said he would be deported after serving his term.
"We will contact the concerned insurance companies soon and ask them to place the amount of the blood money in the court's treasury. Thereafter, the blood money becomes accessible to the victims' inheritors whenever they want to claim it," Salah Bu Farousha, Head of the Traffic Public Prosecution, told Gulf News yesterday following the ruling.
He said the public prosecution, as a government department, cares for and preserves the rights of the victims. "Our main concern is to make sure that the compensation is paid to the families of the people who died, as per Federal Law number 9 of 2003," said Bu Farousha.
The driver, who had pleaded guilty during his first appearance in court, was charged with reckless driving, causing ten deaths and endangering lives and injuring 49 workers.
The defendant was also charged with damaging public and private property. Besides he was fined Dh100 for failing to show his licence.
The traffic authorities were seeking the harshest punishment applicable against the driver who caused the bus collision on Shaikh Zayed Road in December.
The accused will be referred to the Naturalisation and Residency Public Prosecution on charges of illegally working for a different sponsor.
Bu Farousha described the accident as "horrifying".
Accident
The accident occurred when the bus carrying dozens of workers side-swiped another bus in the morning rush hour. The impact caused the bus to crash through the centre divider on Shaikh Zayed Road and overturn on the other side of the road.
Police and rescue officials said 15 ambulances and two helicopters were involved in carrying the injured to hospitals.
Ambulances started arriving at the Rashid Hospital Trauma Centre at 7.36am, eight minutes after the call came from Dubai Police.
