A taxi driver involved in a hit and run in Malé last week will be prosecuted, police assured Sunday night, as the transport ministry revoked his license for two years.
A 46-year-old woman was seriously injured after she was hit by the car on a zebra crossing. The accident occurred near the Senahiya hospital in the capital’s expanded outer road.
She remains in critical condition at the ADK hospital, according to hospital officials.
Sources told the Maldives Independent that the mother of an 18-month-old baby sustained injuries to the head, which caused internal bleeding.
“The case will be sent for prosecution” following an investigation, police said, adding that the Transport Authority has revoked the license and taxi permit of the driver for two years upon request.
The assurance of criminal charges came after the identity of the taxi driver was revealed on social media. A photo of the man was widely circulated with calls for accountability.
Last month, police chief Mohamed Hameed told Raajje TV that police will seek charges against reckless drivers that cause dangerous accidents. Police previously only sought charges in accidents that resulted in serious injuries or damage to property, he noted.
Reckless endangerment is an offence under the 2014 penal code.
The warning came after a spate of accidents. In January, cars crashed into a mosque on the Eydhafushi island in Baa atoll and the State Bank of India’s branch in Addu City. More recently, a motorcycle crashed into a café in Malé.
The 2.2 square mile island of Malé is one of the most congested cities in the world. The capital’s narrow roads are used by a fleet of more than 800 four-wheeled vehicles and more than 90,000 motorcycles, a number that is expected to rise with the opening of Sinamalé bridge in September.
A road safety awareness campaign was launched this month following a spike in accidents since the opening of the bridge, which connects the capital to a new urban centre under development on the reclaimed island of Hulhumalé.
Some 320 traffic accidents have been reported so far this year, according to police statistics.
