DUBAI // An Indian man could face charges of neglect after running over and killing his 18-month-old daughter.
The child died on Friday afternoon after she was hit by her father’s 4x4 as it was reversing at the family home in Hor Al Anz.
“The man rushed his daughter to the hospital but she unfortunately died upon arrival,” said Brig Saif Al Mazrouei, director of the general department of traffic.
Brig Al Mazrouei said that the case had gone before prosecutors.
“In such cases, the father gets charged for neglect. Even in a case in which a pregnant woman causes a car accident and the foetus dies, she is charged with neglect,” he said.
Brig Al Mazrouei recalled two other similar accidents.
“There was a child who died after his father, an Emirati, ran him over in the Al Quoz area, and another case in which an Indian man ran over his child when reversing out of a parking spot in a mall,” he said.
He urged drivers to always make sure that their path was clear when reversing.
Lawyer Yousef Al Bahar said prosecutors tended to close the file on such cases without pressing charges due to the parents’ emotional status. However, he believed that should not always be the case.
“I think prosecutors should start charging those responsible for a child’s death because cases [such as that of the 18-month-old girl] have been happening more lately,” said Mr Al Bahar, of Al Bahar & Associates Advocates and Legal Consultants.
According to UAE law, causing the accidental death of a child can be punishable by a jail sentence or a fine or both. If convicted, the defendant could be ordered to pay blood money.
Roshanara Sait, a road safety expert in Dubai, said supervision, education and discipline were essential to child safety.
She said that toddlers should be supervised at all times and taught the basics of road safety from an early age.
It was difficult for drivers of large SUVs to see people or obstacles around or behind them when reversing. Blacked out windows – tinted windows in excess of the legal 30 per cent – also aggravated the situation.
In 2013, 37 children died in Sharjah after being run over. In most cases, the youngsters were accidentally struck by parents or other relatives, police said.
In 2014, there were two accidents in which a child was killed by a reversing car in RAK, with a further two in Ajman and one in Fujairah.
All of the victims were under 10 and were killed by a family member.
Last year, two toddlers were killed by reversing cars in two separate incidents in RAK and Sharjah.
dmoukhallati@thenational.ae
salamir@thenational.ae
