JEDDAH, 14 August 2004 — Fourteen people perished and seven others were injured, some of them seriously, when a GMC van crashed with a pickup truck near Shuaiba on Makkah-Laith Road on Thursday.
Witnesses attributed the accident to speeding and negligence by the truck driver. Most of the victims were women and children, traveling to the southern region in their GMC van.
Bodies of the victims were seen scattered on the road, witnesses said.
Civil Defense and Red Crescent rescuers arrived at the accident site, 62 kilometers from Makkah, immediately after being notified of the accident and transferred the dead and injured to Al-Noor Hospital in Makkah.
“All the dead were Saudis — three women, four men and seven children,” said Capt. Awad Al-Subhi, a traffic officer.
“Preliminary investigation showed that the truck driver, who was heading toward Makkah, lost control of the vehicle when he fell asleep and hit the van,” he added.
Al-Bilad newspaper identified 13 of the dead as Ramadan Jaber Al-Soufi, Aliya Ahmed Silmi, Ali Abdullah Al-Harbi, Jaber Ramadan Al-Soufi, Sami Rabie Al-Fahmi, Saad Hilal Al-Jahdali, Rabie Muhammad Al-Fahmi, Meaad Ahmed Khamees, Fatma Ahmed Khamees, Saleha Hassan Khawaji, Jaber Hassan Khawaji, Ramadan Hassan Khawaji and Nawaf Hassan Khawaji.
Brig. Saleh Al-Khashan, acting head of the accidents division in Makkah, warned drivers against speeding and driving when they feel tired or sleepy. He extended his condolences to the bereaved families of the victims.
Meanwhile, a number of citizens have urged the Transport Ministry to implement the Makkah-Laith Expressway project without delay to avoid further accidents on this busy road, which has an appalling safety record.
They also called for measures to prevent entry of stray camels onto the road as well as vendors selling camel milk along the road.
“Many drivers stop on the narrow road to buy milk from these vendors, which often results in accidents,” they pointed out.
