Dubai: Driver dies after car crashes, catches fire; police identify him from piece of paper 70m away from accident site

A piece of paper helped the Dubai Police identify a man who died after his vehicle crashed and caught fire. The document was found about 70 metres from the accident site.

Captain Ahmed Khalfan bin Lahej, head of traffic registration, Bur Dubai Police Station, said the motorist was on the Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Road when he tried to take an exit illegally. His vehicle swerved and crashed into a truck. Such was the impact of the collision that the car caught fire.

The driver was killed immediately, while the car was fully destroyed. The police found only two digits from the charred vehicle number plate, and it was difficult to ascertain the identity of the deceased.

One of the investigators noticed a piece of paper stuck on an iron barrier on the road. He recovered it and found it was from a government agency. From this, the police traced and contacted the vehicle’s owner, who told them that he had loaned his car to a friend. The police identified the deceased based on this information.

This was among three key cases solved by traffic investigators at the Bur Dubai Police Station.

Motorist flees in taxi after hit and run accident

In another case, investigators traced a motorist who fled after jumping a red traffic light and crashing into an e-scooter rider. The rider sustained serious injuries in the crash.

Captain Ahmed bin Lahej said the police found the vehicle abandoned about 3km away from the site. The police found the lease contract and traced and arrested the person who had rented it.

Investigations revealed that he abandoned the car and fled in a taxi.

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