Grief-stricken Emirati family who lost brothers in car accident tell of shock

The brothers and a friend went out for a drive last Friday and never returned. Their car was found wrapped around a lamppost after they lost control at high speed amid wet conditions.

Emirati brothers Khalifa Saud Al Naqbi, 21, left, and 14-year-old Saud Saud Al Naqbi died in a car accident in Khor Fakan, Sharjah, on March 24, 2017. Courtesy of the family

KHOR FAKKAN, SHARJAH // Saud and Khalifa Al Naqbi said goodbye to their brother Mohammed with big smiles all around before leaving the house to enjoy the rainy weather.

None of them knew it would be the last time they saw each other alive.

Khalifa, 21, Saud, 14, and friend Abdulaziz Al Naqbi, 22, went out for a drive last Friday and never returned. Their car was found wrapped around a lamppost in Khor Fakkan after they lost control at high speed in the wet conditions, Sharjah Police said.

“They were with me at our house in Khor Fakkan where we spend our weekends. We live in Abu Dhabi,” said Mohammed, 15. “They left on Friday about 8am and they were very excited and happy. The last word they said to me was ‘goodbye’.

“I received a call from friends at 12pm informing me that my brothers were killed in a car accident. I couldn’t believe it until they were brought to the house. When I saw them dead, I started crying.”

Khalifa was driving with Abdulaziz in the passenger seat and Saud sitting in the back.

Another of Khalifa’s and Saud’s brothers, Moataz, was in Abu Dhabi when he got the news of their deaths from his friends. He rushed to Khor Fakkan but was unable to get there before they were buried.

“We are six brothers and three sisters,” said Moataz, 17. “We are close to each other. We always hang out and spend our time together when we are in AD or Khor Fakkan. Khalifa and Saud are the first two we have lost from the family.”

Moataz and Mohammed say they will miss hanging out with their brothers, and their smiles and humour.

“Khalifa used to always stand beside us in adversity and he had a dream to buy his favourite car, a Porsche, while Saud always wanted to be a doctor,” said Mohammed.

Shaddad Al Naqbi, the brothers’ uncle, was the first member of the family to find out about the accident after a friend called him.

“I was shocked. I did not believe the news so I ran to the incident scene without informing any of the family,” said Shaddad, 40. “When I arrived, Saud and Abdulaziz had already been taken to a hospital and Khalifa was trapped in the car and his face was covered.

“I knew he was Khalifa from a surgery scar on his leg. It was the first crash my nephews ever had.”

The brothers’ father, Saud Al Naqbi, 47, could not look at his sons’ faces when he saw them dead at the hospital.

“It was a trauma when I saw them at hospital and I could not bear to see them dead. But what can we say? It is the will of God,” he said.

“Their absence will absolutely leave a space in the family, and what I feel now cannot be described. I want young motorists not to speed and drive safely, especially in rain, so they do not break their families’ hearts.”

Shaddad said: “Anyone who saw how the car swerved and crashed into a lamppost will say it is due to speeding. But we know Khalifa had never driven at high speed and never had radar fines because he never crossed the speed limit.

“It is the first car accident he had since he got his driving licence at 18.”

Faraj Al Naqbi, 17, will miss his cousins’ smiles and the time he used to spend with Saud, with whom he shared secrets.

“We are more than cousins,” said Faraj, a Grade 11 pupil. “I used to always hang out with Khalifa when he came to Khor Fakkan, as well as spend hours on the phone with Saud when he was in AD.”

The family have decided to build a mosque in the boys’ memory and give to charity in their name.