Hit and run suspect arrested over death of woman

AMMAN — Police on Sunday announced the arrest of a motorist, who reportedly struck and killed a woman and then fled the scene in Naour a month ago.

The 35-year-old victim was reportedly hit by an unknown vehicle on January 21, near a kindergarten at around 7:00 am, a senior police official said.

Police Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi said a special team was formed shortly after the accident and “collected evidence from the scene”.

“The investigation team inspected several vehicles which they suspected might be involved in the accident and they managed to pinpoint the car involved in the case,” the police official explained.

The driver was summoned and “he confessed to the unintentional hit-and-run incident”, according to Sartawi.
Any driver of a vehicle involved in a hit-and-run accident has 24 hours to turn him or herself in, according to the Traffic Law.
Lawyer Khalid Khleifat told The Jordan Times that the punishment for fleeing the scene of accident based on Article 27 of the Traffic Law is three months to three years in prison or a fine ranging between JD1,000 to JD2,000.

“The court has the authority to apply both punishments and the motorist’s licence can be revoked for a period ranging from six months to two years,” Khleifat explained. 

If the family of the victim decides to drop the charges against the motorist, the prison punishment “will be reduced depending on the court’s evaluation of the case”, the lawyer added.

According to Public Security Department statistics, there were 10,835 road accidents in 2016, resulting in 750 deaths and 17,435 injuries.                            

Pedestrian traffic fatalities in Jordan represent over one-third of overall deaths on roads, traffic officials have said in recent years.