Woman, 19, knocked down and killed

SHARJAH// A young woman, 19, was killed as she crossed Corniche Road in Sharjah yesterday.

The expatriate Arab woman was on her way to meet friends at Sharjah beach at 10am when she was hit by a car driven by an Asian woman in Al Heera.

"An ambulance team arrived on the scene but she had already lost her life," said Capt Khaled Al Kay, deputy director of the Sharjah Police traffic department. "The exact cause of the accident was speeding and not paying attention to the road."

Police are holding the driver at Al Heera police station while they continue their investigations.

This is the second fatal road accident in Sharjah in recent weeks. Two weeks ago two female Indian university students died after being hit by a speeding car driven by an Arab woman on Buhairah Corniche.

Statics from Sharjah police show the number of deaths on the emirate's roads decreased by more than 17 per cent last year, to 117 from 142 in 2010.

Capt Al Kay appealed to pedestrians and motorists to observe road-safety rules. He said drivers should give way to pedestrians crossing roads.

ykakande@thenational.ae