Indian woman accidentally killed by son laid to rest in UAE

Sharjah - The family hails from India's Uttar Pradesh.

An Indian woman, who was fatally run over by a 4WD being driven by her 17-year-old son, was laid to rest on Monday, friends of the family have said. The boy, who does not hold a driver's licence, was taking lessons to get one. He took his father's 4WD for a spin on Friday morning and was trying to park it when he accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the brake and ran over his 38-year-old mother.
The incident happened in Sharjah's Muweilah area.
"The family was inconsolable. Many relatives attended the funeral prayers held at the Sharjah graveyard," one of the family friends who attended the funeral told Khaleej Times.
The family hails from India's Uttar Pradesh. The boy, a grade 12 student, is the oldest of five siblings. According to relatives, three of his younger siblings have not even understood the tragedy that struck them.
"The youngest are only aged five and six and they were playing around. It was a heart-breaking scene," said the family friend.
Unlicensed drivers are a big threat
This is not the first instance where an unlicensed driver has caused a fatal accident in the country. On June 6 this year, Khaleej Times had reported a gruesome accident that killed three Emirati children and their nanny when an unlicensed mother rammed the car into a lamppost. In March, an underage driver was killed after driving his parents' car without their knowledge in Sharjah.
In 2018, the Abu Dhabi Police arrested 342 minors for driving without a licence. During this period, underage driving caused 17 traffic accidents.
Unlicensed drivers caused 580 accidents in Ras Al Khaimah in 2018 and 2019. Over 200 people were nabbed by the Ras Al Khaimah Police for driving without a licence in 2018.
Authorities have repeatedly warned about the dangers of this unlawful and dangerous practice. Lt-Col Abdullah Al Suwaidi, deputy director of the department of external zones at Abu Dhabi Police, had said earlier: "Apart from being a huge violation, driving a car without a licence is very dangerous and poses threat to both the driver and other road users."
He warned that violators will face penalties, including a maximum jail sentence of three months and/or a minimum Dh5,000 fine.
Juveniles law will apply to the under-age driver
The juvenile law will apply to the case in which an underage driver caused an accident in which his mother was fatally run over, legal experts have said. Emirati lawyer Abdulmoneim bin Suwaidan, owner of Bin Suwaidan Firm for Advocates and Legal Consultants, told Khaleej Times: "The penalty can be reprimanding or handing him over to his parent. The judge may also deprive him of freedom by ordering him be placed in a (juvenile) institution."
Even if he is detained, he will be placed in detention allocated for juveniles. "The judge will take into consideration the circumstances; whether the defendant was driving fast, recklessly, under the influence of drugs or liquor. If it was just an accident, he may be ordered to pay a fine. But in this case, the juvenile may be handed over to his parent or be reprimanded."
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• Sharjah