A 28-year-old Emirati man, driving under the influence of drugs, caused a chaotic scene on Jebel Ali-Lehbab Road. This resulted in a series of collisions with police vehicles, leaving two officers injured.
The incident, which took place on March 17 this year, began with a report made to Dubai Police’s operations room about a reckless motorist in a white Nissan Patrol without a number plate.
However, it was later found that four vehicles were driving against the traffic endangering other motorists on the road. A task force was formed to apprehend the vehicles and their drivers. Four police patrol cars, including one from Al Barsha Police Station, were dispatched.
As the offenders spotted police cars, they began driving against the traffic at high speed, heading towards the roundabout leading to the Lehbab area where additional Bur Dubai police station patrols were stationed.
The main accused then returned to the correct lane, attempting to escape towards Jebel Ali. Dubai Misdemeanour Court records show that the offender continued to drive away and despite multiple orders from the officers to stop, he refused to comply, continuing his reckless behaviour and further endangering lives.
His car was surrounded by police vehicles because of his erratic driving in the left-most lane of the four-lane road.
In a desperate attempt to evade capture, the driver changed lanes abruptly and rammed into one of the police cars. This collision set off a chain reaction, with the suspect's vehicle impacting three more police cars.
The impact of the crash was so severe that one of the police patrol vehicles was overturned. Two police officers sustained severe injuries as a result of the collisions. However, court records did not provide details on the specific nature of their injuries.
After this, police officers were finally able to bring the situation under control and managed to restrain and apprehend the driver.
Tests revealed that the suspect had consumed Clonazepam and Pregabalin (commonly known as 'Lyrica'), both medications are typically used to treat epilepsy among other conditions.
During prosecution interrogations, the man initially denied the charges but later admitted in court to using drugs, driving under the influence, endangering lives, causing damage to police cars, injuring others, and driving a car without a license plate. The court has scheduled the next hearing for August 7, 2024.
