ABU DHABI // Four men were jailed for a year after Abu Dhabi Public Prosecution reopened the case of an Emirati girl who died last year after falling from a school bus.
The public prosecution reopened the case this year after new evidence suggested that the driver – who was convicted and deported at an earlier hearing – was not responsible for her death, the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department said on Tuesday.
The girl, whose age and school were not stated in court documents, was leaning against the emergency back door of the bus in May last year, when the driver made a sudden halt at a sharp turn. To balance herself, she grabbed the handle, causing the door to open.
The girl lost her balance and fell off the bus, suffering a broken skull. She died at hospital.
At the first trial, the date of which has not been specified, the Court of Cassation found the driver guilty of negligence that caused the girl’s death, and he was deported.
However, a technical expert report on the bus later showed that the emergency door alarm had not been functioning since the school started using the bus 10 years ago, according to court records. When activated, the door should display a signal and sound an alarm to the driver before it opens.
Since the alarm was not working, it opened immediately, causing the girl to fall, according to the report.
According to court records, about three months ago, the prosecution re-filed the case to the Court of Misdemeanour, which cleared the driver and convicted four men, who were in charge of maintenance for the bus, of negligence.
Each was sentenced to a year in jail. The court ordered all four to share in paying blood money to the victim’s family, according to records, but an amount was not specified. The verdict is subject to appeals and cassation.
hdajani@thenational.ae
