Rayyan Ghazi was performing stunts with his car before he plowed into Sultan Al-Harbi, according to the victim’s father.
However, Ghazi told Al-Madinah daily that he rejects the accusations and he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“I was on my way back home after spending some time with my friends. On my way home, a secret police unit stormed a location popular with joy riders, which created a lot of confusion,” he said.
“The joy riders were trying to escape from the scene and driving in the opposite direction to me, on my side of the road. I was trying to avoid a number of cars but I lost control of my car and hit a crowd, which included the man who died. But I was not joy riding as they are saying.”
Ghazi said he was shocked when he saw the police report and said that he would challenge the accusations. He added that he would get a testimony from his friend who was with him at the time of the accident.
He blamed the traffic department’s unmarked police units that blocked off a number of roads in the area for the chaos.
Ghazi and his friend were injured and lost consciousness in the accident.
“I opened my eyes at the hospital and I was shocked that the police were accusing me of joy riding. I have many witnesses who saw me and will say that I was not joy riding. They are willing to testify,” said Ghazi.
Ghazi, a high school graduate, said he has never been involved in joy riding. He said he would ask for the formation of a special committee to investigate the accident and call witnesses.
He was arrested after going to the police station with some documents and was held for five days last week.
“I was surprised when I was held. No one took my statement,” said Ghazi, who is an only son.
A police report claims that on March 4, Ghazi and his friend were performing dangerous maneuvers on the main road west of the pilgrims’ bridge in north Jeddah when he lost control and crashed into a car on the side of the road.
Three people were said to be standing next to that car, including 28-year-old Sultan Al-Harbi.
Al-Harbi arrived unconscious at Al-Salam Hospital suffering from broken ribs, legs and a fractured skull; he later died. According to a report from the hospital, a number of other people were injured, suffering from broken bones and bruises.
According to police, Ghazi was to blame for the accident and was not holding a driving license.
The General Prosecution and Investigation Board recently opened an investigation into the incident. The case is expected to be referred to a court hearing in the next few weeks.
Al-Harbi’s father has demanded that the courts treat the incident as a criminal case.
The accident evokes memories of the famous “Abu Kab” case in which a Saudi naval officer, Faisal Al-Otaibi, was found guilty of killing three boys, who were his passengers, in a stunt-driving accident in 2005.
A Jeddah court sentenced Al-Otaibi to 3,000 lashes, 20 years in prison and a lifetime ban on driving.
Al-Otaibi, known in the media by his nickname “Abu Kab” — “the guy with the baseball cap” — has been fighting calls to execute him.
Stunt driving, or joy riding as it is called in the Kingdom, is a popular pastime among Saudi youths.
