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'I prayed for the car to stop rolling': Dubai accident survivor recalls moments of horror

Within five minutes of calling the emergency hotline, about 10 police vehicles and 10 ambulances were on the scene, the student said

Dubai school student S.T. was in the car that crashed on Hatta-Lahbab road on Tuesday and the only thing she remembers is the vehicle flipping and sand getting into the car. She and 11 others were crammed into the 7-seater SUV that a group of parents had hired to ferry the students to their schools in Garhoud from their location close to Madam in Sharjah.

“It happened so quickly,” the Bangladeshi student told Khaleej Times. “The car hit the iron barrier and overturned maybe two or three times. The glass broke and sand got in. I closed my eyes and prayed for the car to stop rolling.”

The accident killed one 7-year-old and Dubai Police said the initial investigations suggest the accident was caused by speeding, negligence and lack of attention on the driver's part.

Once the car stopped rolling, the 17-year-old got out. “I was not seriously injured so I quickly jumped out,” she said. “One young girl was lying face down on the sand. I went and turned her over and she had been seriously injured. Her arm was hanging from her body. She was later transported to the hospital by helicopter. For me, that image is still in my mind. One of the girls had some eye injuries because of the broken glass. That child is still in hospital.”

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According to S.T., the driver was in shock and could not react after getting out. “He asked me to call the authorities,” she said. “I had my phone so I immediately called the emergency hotline. Within five minutes, about 10 police vehicles and 10 ambulances were on the scene and the helicopter came a little later.”

Her younger sister, who is in Grade 5, suffered a fractured collarbone in the accident. “The doctor first suggested surgery but after discussing with my parents, they have advised her to rest for two weeks and then go back for a scan,” she said. “They think that because she is small, the bone may heal on its own. She is in a lot of pain when she moves.”

First year of carpooling

It is the first time that S.T. and her sister were opting for a private carpooling service. “Until last year, our brother was dropping us to school on his way to university,” she said. “This year, he finished university and joined work so he was unable to drop us any more. That is why we decided to opt for this service.”

According to the Grade 12 student, all the children in the car lived in the same locality. “A few of us lived in Madam and the others lived in a nearby place called Nizwa.”

According to S.T., the driver and a female relative of his sat in the front seat while the remaining 10 students sat in the second and third rows of the car.

We knew he had passed away

S.T. said that she immediately knew that the 7-year-old had passed away. “Once we all jumped out, the aunty (older woman) in the front seat counted us and said that one person was missing,” she said. “The area we crashed was close to a construction site. So the labourers from there came running. All of them together helped to turn the car over and the boy had been trapped under it. Everyone immediately started reciting duas.”

At the time, S.T.’s priority was to keep the younger children from seeing the gruesome scenes. “The dead boy’s younger brother was in the car,” she said. “I quickly led him and a few others away from the scene so that he would not see his brother. He kept asking for his brother and I lied to him that he was in the ambulance.”

She said at the hospital, police and KHDA officials visited them. “They told us to reach out for anything we needed,” she said. “I still cannot believe that I was in this major accident. I am truly grateful to be alive.”

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