Friends remember road victim's last day

Hassan al Jabry in his role as a crew leader with UAEU's rover scouts.

Hasan al Jabry's final hours were a testament to his character, his friends said yesterday. The 21-year-old Emirati student led Dhuhr prayers, phoned a pal to confirm his attendance at a college event and put his family first, as he always had. Then, as he drove home on Monday afternoon, Mr al Jabry died in an accident as he tried to overtake a slow-moving bus. "Right before the accident, he was leading the Dhuhr prayers with colleagues at the university," said Tarek Fayed, the acting manager for leadership and student organisations at the UAE University in Al Ain.

"After he read prayers, he called me to confirm he would participate in a function. He said he would be late because of a family commitment." Abd Al Aziz al Bloushi, who was with Mr al Jabry just before he got into his car, said: "It's a very hard thing to lose a friend - not only a friend, but a brother." Mr al Jabry was in the third year of a business administration course. The youngest of four brothers, he wanted to be a businessman, like his father. As an active member of the student union, Mr al Jabry was picked to be a crew leader for the university's rover scouts.

Another friend, Ahmed al Rafi, 21, said: "After the prayer, we were laughing and remembering the camping days. The last thing I remember is he said he was going to run some errands and go home. He was important to us all." @Email:[e-mail]