A man has
been sentenced to six years in jail for a crash that killed two police officers
in Doha, Qatar.
Ahmed Emad Shahata was handed down a six-year sentence
today and was ordered to pay QR 200,000 in blood money to each of the victims’
families at the Doha Higher Criminal Court for the fatal crash which killed
traffic officers Hamad Al-Marri, (32) and Khalid Al-Hajiri, (30) on the 21st
of July of last year.
The crash
happened in Al Saad near Hamad Hospital after the defendant swerved to miss a
lamp post and crashed into the officers who were inside their patrol car at the
time. They both lost consciousness instantly from the impact of the crash and
were burned to death.
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According to
the prosecution, the defendant was going 120km/h in a 60km/h zone when he
crashed into their parked car and it burst into flames. The 18-year-old was
also driving without a licence for which he was also fined. He also confessed
to using his phone while driving near the hospital before the accident
occurred.
Officers
were called to the crash on Al Rayyan Road at 11:53
pm and received another call minutes later, from bystanders reporting a
fire that broke out which was the patrol car that had been crashed into.
Mr Shahata,18, from
88 Al Amara street, Al Markhiya, Doha was arrested on Al Rayyan Road and taken
to hospital for minor injuries. He then was charged with multiple offences
including Driving without a license, driving recklessly, using a mobile phone
while driving, and involuntary vehicular manslaughter.
Mr Shahata’s defence
attorneys claimed that he was blinded by the powerful beams of an oncoming vehicle in the other lane and he only
noticed the lamp post a split second before swerving to avoid it. However, he
later pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to three
years in prison, with an additional 3 years for not possessing a driving
license.
The judge
told Mr Shahata that he will serve his
sentences concurrently without the eligibility for early release and is to be
deported after the end of his sentence as he is an Egyptian citizen.
In a
statement by the director of the traffic department, Lt. Col Fahad Al Mannai said:
“we need to make people more aware of how their actions while driving can change
the lives of the people around them. We lost two brave officers due to the
reckless actions of one careless individual, and we shall not let that stop us
from making our roads safer through the greater enforcement of traffic laws. The
crash was not intentional, but it was preventable and through better
understanding and respect of traffic rules and regulations, we can prevent the
number of fatal crashes in our country”.
The police
reached out to both officers families who were abroad at the time. They were
said to be devastated and distraught at the respective losses of their sons.
However, they were pleased with the verdict and sentence and thanked the court
and police force for their investigation.
