SHARJAH // All three members of an Emirati family, including an infant girl, were killed when a heavy lorry smashed into their car at a junction in Sharjah. The 35-year-old husband, his wife and their young daughter were crossing the junction in Al Nouf on Saturday night when the lorry barrelled into the driver's side of the vehicle. The father, who was at the wheel, and the mother were killed instantly. Their child died on arrival at Al Qassimi Hospital.
The lorry driver, identified by police only as an Indian male, was slightly injured. He told police he attempted to swerve to avoid the family, but he was later arrested. Lt Col Ahmed bin Darwish, the head of the Sharjah police patrol, said he expected the lorry driver to face criminal charges in connection with the crash, but was not more specific. The family was buried on Sunday after funeral prayers at Al Sahaba mosque.
It was just the latest fatal crash on Sharjah's roads, although police say the number is falling amid a national campaign to make driving less dangerous. Last year alone, more than 175 people were killed in car crashes in Sharjah, according to police. During the first six months of this year there has been an 18.5 per cent drop in crashes and a 26 per cent decline in road deaths in the emirate, compared to last year, they say.
Col Gaith al Za'abi, the director general of the Ministry of Interior's Traffic Co-ordination Administration, also said this week that 391 people died in traffic accidents in the Emirates in the first six months of this year, compared to 495 in the same period last year. awadmustafa@thenational.ae
