ABU DHABI // A car struck and killed an escaped camel at Al Falah Street and Al Karamah streets yesterday, snarling traffic. "I saw the camel on the other side of the street far off in the distance but didn't think it was going to come over to my side of the road because of the metal fence," said Bilal Habboush, 23, who was driving the car. "Then suddenly the camel cut through an opening in the fence and darted out in front of me. I didn't have time to stop."
Mr Habboush, who was unhurt, estimated that the car sustained thousands of dirhams worth of damage. Mr Habboush's brother, Nidal, who owns the 2006 Chevrolet Lumina and arrived a short time later, said: "The windscreen is shattered and caved in, the roof is pushed in and the driver side mirror and door handle were ripped off." He said he did not know whether his auto insurance covered camel collisions.
The female camel, which has a piece of frayed rope around its neck, lay dead in the road for 45 minutes until municipal workers moved it to the side. Police officers said it was unusual for a car to collide with a camel downtown. "This is something we see more of on the external roads," one said. ealghalib@thenational.ae
