Car chase case goes to prosecution

An investigation into a car chase in Baljurashi that killed a Saudi and injured three of his family members will be passed to the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution, Baha Gov. Prince Mishari bin Saud said.
The governor said after visiting the three survivors at King Abdul Aziz Medical City in Riyadh on Friday: “The case will be passed to the bureau soon after the completion of an investigation by a high-level committee.”
Prince Mishari conveyed his condolences to the family of Abdul Rahman Al-Ghamdi, who was killed in the chase allegedly carried out by police patrols and the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Haia) officials.
Al-Ghamdi’s wife and two children were airlifted to the hospital in Riyadh on the directive of Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense.
Prince Mishari met with Dr. Khaled Al-Mazroue, deputy medical director, and Saleh Al-Munif, executive director of the hospital and discussed the victims’ condition.
Meanwhile, Al-Ghamdi’s relatives refused to receive his body from King Fahd Hospital mortuary, saying they rejected the investigation committee’s conclusion that he died in a traffic accident.
Dr. Khaled, a brother of the victim, said they believed Al-Ghamdi died as a result of a criminal act.
He told Okaz daily: “The fact his car fell from the flyover to the right side shows that the two patrols had intentionally wanted to force the car off the road and this caused the vehicle to fall.”
Khaled described the committee’s report as suspicious and wanted a higher committee of experts from outside Baha to investigate under the supervision of Prince Mishari.
However, Ali Al-Ghamdi, father of a Haia member implicated in the incident, said Haia members were not involved.
He also denied reports that Haia members did not take part in the rescue operation. He added: “My son Salim told me that the young man who died in the incident left Shukran recreation center at 2 a.m. on Saturday.
“When he was stopped he raised the volume of his sound system and sped toward Shahm.
“After that patrol police chased the man and were telling him to stop but he did not. The Haia patrol was far behind the police.”
Samira, Al-Ghamdi’s wife, said the Haia chased them while they were listening to songs on a cassette called “Tuyour Al-Janna” (Birds of Paradise).
She said the volume was high but reasonable.
She said her son Khaled was still in bad shape as a result of head and stomach injuries.