Dubai driver jailed for six months for fatal hit and run

Surveillance footage showed victim being struck by the car and thrown nearly five metres into the air

Officers arrested the hit-and-run driver after tracing him by using surveillance camera footage. Photo: Dubai Police

A Dubai motorist has been sentenced to six months in prison for fatally hitting a pedestrian with his car before fleeing the scene.

The Indian driver, 35, was convicted by Dubai Court of First Instance of causing wrongful death, damaging property and failing to stop at the scene of an accident. An appeal was denied.

Officers tracked down and arrested the man after obtaining his car's number plate from surveillance camera footage from the area where the accident took place on July 26 last year.

The accident happened on an internal road in Al Quoz Industrial Area 4.

Video footage showed the victim walking on the side of the road when he was struck by the car.

“A patrol was dispatched to the scene after receiving a report from members of the public,” a police officer told the court.

“Surveillance camera footage showed the victim being struck by the car and being thrown nearly five metres into the air.”

He said officers found the car's side mirror, which had fallen off on impact, at the scene of the accident.

In court, the driver initially denied the charges, claiming that a group of people fighting had suddenly appeared in front of his car, and that he had heard a loud noise before driving home.

But he later admitted to running the man over and failing to report the incident out of fear of the repercussions.

The driver has been fined Dh10,000 ($2,700) and ordered to pay Dh200,000 in blood money to the family of the victim, who suffered severe head injuries and died the next day at Rashid Hospital.

Despite the best efforts of doctors, the victim's life could not be saved due to the extent of his injuries, which included a skull fracture, according to a medical report provided to the court.

The driver's licence has been suspended for one year from the date the verdict was issued.

Despite having completed his six-month sentence, the man will remain in jail until the blood money has been paid.