The General Prosecution and Investigation Board has officially confirmed that Rayyan Ghazi will have to appear in court after Sultan Al-Harbi was hit by a vehicle. The latter died from his injuries.
A judge will hear the case on Monday and will listen to evidence from Ghazi and the victim’s father before issuing a verdict.
The father previously said that he would ask the court not to treat the case as an accidental killing.
Ghazi’s mother has broken her silence and told Al-Madinah daily that her son was innocent and not a reckless driver.
Basma Naseef, who works as a school guide at a local high school, said she had sent her son to a location near the accident.
“When he was there, he was surprised to see cars coming from the opposite direction, which caused him to lose control of his car and crash. My son was not doing any stunt driving.”
She has described the accusations leveled at Ghazi as “fake”, adding that her son was in a bad state after learning that Al-Harbi’s father was pushing for the death penalty.
“Rayyan is my only son and is very calm and loving. As for the family of the victim, we are willing to pay the blood money but we refuse to accuse our son of stunt driving,” she said.
Ghazi had already told a local 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.
However, 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 Al-Harbi.
Al-Harbi arrived unconscious at Al-Salam Hospital suffering from broken ribs and legs and a fractured skull and later died from his injuries.
According to a report from the hospital, a number of other people were injured, suffering from broken bones and bruises.
