Bahraini national killed in highway head-on collision

A Bahraini man was killed on the spot in a tragic traffic accident on Shaikh Isa bin Salman Highway last night. It occurred after the car driven by the victim collided head-on with a bus coming from the opposite direction. Many reports said the bus was going in the wrong direction on the highway and the driver was “drunk”.

The driver was later arrested by police. Interior Ministry confirmed the incident in a tweet: “A man died when a wrong-way driving bus hit a vehicle on Shaikh Isa bin Salman Highway towards King Fahad Causeway near the North Sehla area. Relevant procedures are being taken.” However, the ministry didn’t reveal any further information about the mishap and instructed drivers to seek alternative roads to avoid being stuck in the traffic congestion caused by the accident.

The accident occurred near the exit to Sehla and Isa Town from the highway. Traffic flow on the busy road was halted for more than two hours before the concerned authorities moved both vehicles and restored the ordinary movement of traffic. Tribune has learnt that the deceased has been identified as Ali Al Haddar, a Bahraini social worker in his mid-twenties from the village of Hamala in the Northern Governorate.

His body was laid to rest in Hamala graveyard at 4 pm yesterday. He was mourned by hundreds of citizens, who demanded maximum punishment for the driver, who was allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol. Several footage posted on social media networks showed cars avoiding the “maniac” bus driver while he was driving against the oncoming traffic on one of the busiest highways in the country.

Videos of the victim’s vehicle being caught under the bus and the halted traffic on the highway were also being circulated online. No further details were available on the fate of the bus driver.