Loud car radio sparks fatal police chase

Published on 10/07/2012 00:00

A SAUDI man has died and his wife and two children left injured after their car crashed off a bridge while being pursued by religious police.

In Saudi Arabia, officers of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice patrol the streets and arrest those who do not comply with strict Islamic rules. In March the commission’s head banned car pursuits, which had led to several fatal accidents.

Family members told a local newspaper the chase began when an officer confronted Abdulrahman Ahmed al-Ghamdi, 35, and his family while he was returning home from an amusement park. They said the volume of Mr Ghamdi’s car radio prompted the confrontation. In the pursuit, the car crashed over a bridge, killing Mr Ghamdi. His nine year-old son is in a coma and his wife has had her arm amputated, reports said.