DUBAI // A drink driver who tried to flee the country after knocking down and killing a tourist as he crossed the road has been jailed for two months.
The Brazilian driver, 31, was also ordered to pay Dh150,000 blood money and had his driving licence suspended for six months.
The victim, Gavin Duffy, 29, was on holiday from the UK and had been in the country for only two days. He was crossing Al Sufouh Road at 2am on November 23 when he was mown down.
A passerby noted down the car licence plate number and informed the police. The witness, from Lebanon, said the driver did not even brake after the accident but sped off.
The Brazilian went to his workplace in Jumeirah Lake Towers to pick up his passport then headed to Dubai International Airport to leave the country.
He was arrested in the duty-free area before he could board a 4.20am flight to Beirut.
The driver was convicted at Dubai Traffic Court on Tuesday of driving under the influence of alcohol, causing a person’s death and fleeing the scene of an accident.
Prosecutors immediately filed an appeal against the sentence. The first hearing will be on March 6.
The victim, from Billingham in the north east of England, was an accomplished marathon runner. After his death, relatives and friends launched an appeal to repatriate his body as he did not have travel insurance.
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