DUBAI // A lorry driver who ran over two men leaving them permanently disabled had his jail sentence overturned by the Appeal Court today.
The 35-year-old Syrian was jailed by the Misdemeanour Court for a year and fined Dh10,000 for the incident on October 21, 2007. It left two men from Nepal with disabilities described as 30 per cent and 70 per cent respectively.
The Appeal Court today cancelled the jail term and reduced the fine to Dh2,000.
The driver, who was working for Dubai World, dropped off a container at the port at about 4.30am when he realised something was wrong.
"The crane pulled the container up and I turned left with my truck to leave but then I felt the tyres go up then down," he said.
He looked in his mirror and saw two men stuck under his lorry.
When police arrived, the driver denied responsibility, and said the two men should not have been lying down in a restricted area.
He said he was driving at a speed of 10kph.
One of the victims, aged 31, was sitting with his friends when the lorry hit him. He said the vehicle had swerved towards them suddenly and that its lights were not working.
The driver denied this, and said no lorries were allowed inside the ports without working lights.
The man suffered injuries to his neck and head and was in Rashid Hospital for the next four months. The other victim, aged 28, suffered fractures to his pelvis and urethral injuries.
At his original trial in the Misdemeanours Court, the driver said: "I am guilty and I have nothing to say in my defence."
salamir@thenational.ae