Appeal date set for Omani death crash coach driver

Muscat: An appeal date has been set for the Omani sentenced to jail after the coach he was driving crashed in Dubai, claiming 17 lives.

The driver, Saeed Al Balushi, will appear in front of the Dubai Traffic Court on 19 September, according to Dr Khalid bin Said bin Salim Al Jaradi, Oman ambassador to the UAE. The embassy is helping Al Balushi in defending his case in front of Public Prosecution Dubai's authorities.

Speaking to Times of Oman, Al Jaradi said: "The Dubai Traffic Court has set the date for the Omani bus driver’s appeal for September 19. We are seeking mitigation of the sentence for the Omani bus driver and we hope we are successful."

Saeed Al Balushi was driving his Mwasalat bus on a routine trip from Muscat to Dubai, when he smashed into a steel barrier on Mohammad Bin Zayed road. He saw the barrier too late and although he swerved to avoid it, the bus crashed, resulting in 17 deaths and 13 injuries. The victims were from Oman, India and Europe.

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Public Prosecution Dubai last week sentenced Saeed to seven years in jail, and fined him AED 3.4 million (roughly OMR 350,000), which will be paid as compensation to the families of the victims. The Embassy of Oman in the UAE has said it will appeal Saeed’s verdict, and his younger brother Abdulrahman has thanked the embassy for its assistance.

"My brother Saeed is 50-years-old but is still going through mental trauma following the bus accident," he said. "This is the first time he has had an accident since obtaining his driving license and it's the first time he's ever been to jail."

He added: "I would like to thank everyone, especially the Omani embassy in the UAE and the Omani people for their support and for standing with us through this difficult time. We've received supportive calls from everywhere.

"We only ask for people to pray for my older brother to get out of jail as soon as possible, as his family is awaiting his return," Abdulrahman said.

As part of the Omani Embassy's defence efforts, a report has been prepared highlighting Saeed's claims of not being able to see the warning signs leading up to the barrier, because the sun's rays were blinding him.

A photograph taken from the on-board CCTV camera just seconds before the crash shows this.

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In the image, Saeed is concentrating on the road and is not distracted by his phone or by anything else. Bright sunlight can be seen reflecting off his face and dishdasha. The defence report compiled by lawyers working with the embassy has been sent to Times of Oman.

The report notes: "The position of the sun during the accident at 17:34 was low and directly affected the field of vision of the driver, as well as his ability to read the signs.”

It added: “Placing the signs correctly in terms of location for the sun and other types of lighting, both on the top and on the side of the road, can greatly affect their efficiency. The sign should always be directed in such a way so as to reduce the glare. Decisions on roadside and overhead signage should be related to the conditions of the site and signs should be placed in a manner that ensures safety.

"Signs should be far enough away to allow the driver to read the message, understand it and make the right decision.

"The image was recorded just before the time of the incident, 5:30 pm, so we are able to understand what the driver was faced with in the run up to the accident and we can see some obvious technical errors at this site,” the report said.

The report sent by the embassy also provided details of the barrier into which the bus smashed.

“It is noted that the height-limiting barrier used is a high energy absorbing type, and this type of barrier is used when there is imminent danger to pedestrians or other road users,” said the report. “At this particular site there is no such kind of danger. Therefore, a ‘low energy absorption barrier’ should have been used, so as to slow down the vehicle considerably, while providing a reasonable level of safety for the passengers. Swing gates or hinge gates are typical examples of low power absorption barriers.

“The 2.2-metre barrier was built on the lane for light cars to the parking area to restrict access to buses, trucks, and so forth. About 12 metres from the barrier, a signboard was in place displaying the routes to the car park and metro station. Hanging warning signs were placed below the direction mark of the barrier that restricts the height. A longitudinal bump was placed on both the left and right lanes only a few metres from the giant barrier. The speed in that lane is 60 km/hr.”

The Omani ambassador said: “We are going to appeal the verdict issued by the Dubai Traffic court against the Omani bus driver. The embassy is following up the case.”

Al Jaradi added: “Unfortunately, the judge didn’t respond to the embassy’s defence lawyer, which we provided for the bus driver after he filed a series of requests, including the appointment of an expert to identify the specifications of the iron barrier in order to verify that it complies with the international standards on traffic safety.”

In this context, the statement from Dubai Prosecution said, “Dubai Traffic Prosecution orders for the Omani driver to be referred to Dubai Traffic Court after he was charged with causing the death of 17 passengers, injuring 13 people with varying bodily injuries and causing damage by use of a vehicle, as these are all considered traffic offences.

“The prosecution shall seek to apply the penalties stipulated in the law against the driver, in accordance with the federal laws in force. The penalty is imprisonment of seven years as well as a fine, in addition to the driver being obliged to pay a sum of AED 3,400,000 to the families of those killed in the incident.”