Hurghada Misdemeanor Court has handed down a LE500 fine and a three-year rigorous imprisonment sentence to the driver of a bus that collided recently with a truck in Hurghada, killing three passengers and injuring 35 others.
The court ruled that the sentence can be suspended in return for a fee of LE5,000, meaning that the driver need not go to prison, a reflection of the unintentional nature of the crime.
The driver has lodged an appeal, which will be heard by an appeal court on October 20.
According to prosecutors, the driver feel asleep while he was driving, causing the accident.
After the incident, which took place on July 29, Hurghada prosecutors formed a committee of traffic experts and officers to inspect the scene and gather evidence. The committee checked whether any technical faults with the bus had been reported prior to the accident.
Hassan Darwish, director of the Red Sea Ambulance Organization, said that the bus, which belonged to a tourism and transport company, collided with the truck at the northern entrance to Hurghada.
He said the injured were transferred to Hurghada General Hospital by 15 ambulances. The hospital was put on high alert to deal with mass casualties due to the accident, Darwish added.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
