ALKHOBAR, May 29 (Arab News): The Dhahran-Jubail Highway turned deadly on Wednesday afternoon when a car taking a family to Jubail was broadsided, killing the mother and her 13-year-old son and injuring her 11-year-old daughter and a family friend who was driving.

The 45-year-old mother was identified as Mushtarshida from Hubli in the Indian state of Karnataka. Her son, Owais Ahmed, was a seventh-grader at the International Indian School in Dammam. The woman’s 11-year-old daughter, Maria, received serious leg injuries and underwent emergency surgery at Saudi Aramco Hospital in Dhahran where she is recovering and reportedly out of danger.

The car in which they were heading to Jubail to meet Mehboob Naik, husband of Mushtarshida, who had taken up a job there, was a 2007 Toyota Corolla. It was being driven by Maqsood Ahmed, a close and longtime friend of the family. Ahmed survived the accident with minor injuries. He is being treated at the Saudi Aramco Hospital.

Speaking to Arab News from his hospital bed, Ahmed, who comes from Jammu and Kashmir in India, said they left Alkhobar for Jubail about 2:45 p.m. Wednesday. “We must have driven for 25 minutes before the tragedy occurred. As far as I recall, we were in the first lane, and then we seem to have been hit on the right side; both Mushtarshida and Owais were sitting on the right side, one in front and one in the back. I don’t know what happened from then on. I saw myself in this hospital next.”

He said there was no problem on the highway or with the vehicle. “We have driven in this car to Makkah quite often. I never indulge in speeding, and that day I was neither challenged by any other motorist nor was there any honking in the minutes leading up to the accident. The only thing I feel now is that we may have been hit twice — once on the side and then in the back.”

The bodies of the deceased were transported to Dammam Central Hospital, and the injured were brought to Saudi Aramco Hospital.

Eastern Province traffic police conducted a preliminary investigation but have not released the exact cause of the accident. Some unconfirmed reports, however, suggest that the man responsible for the accident is in custody.

There were a series of tragic ironies. Mushtarshida’s husband, Mehboob Naik, had taken up a new job in Jubail only this month. He has been in the Kingdom for more than 20 years, and all this while the family was based in Dammam. Some months ago when he lost his job with a firm in Dammam he applied for various positions and was hired by Ma’aden, the Saudi Arabian mining company, in Jubail. “Wednesday was his first day at work,” recalled other family friends. “He signed the employment papers on Wednesday.” Naik is from Belgaum in Karnataka.

Naik’s wife and children were heading to Jubail to search for suitable accommodation for him and possibly the family if they decided to move to Jubail for good. “The Naik family was of two minds. It was weighing its options. Naik neither liked the idea of making a daily trip to Jubail from Alkhobar nor fancied driving on the Dhahran-Jubail Highway. He thought Jubail had all the facilities, including a well-established Indian school, and moving to the industrial city was the best option,” remembered their Kashmiri friend.

That was never to be. Another bitter irony was that Owais turned 13 on Wednesday. “We decided to celebrate his birthday in the evening after coming back from Jubail. His mother promised to buy him a remote-controlled car that he was hoping to get as a birthday gift,” said Maqsood Ahmed, wiping away his tears.

Teachers and students at the Indian school in Dammam were in a state of shock on Thursday. At a condolence meeting, students and staff prayed for the departed souls.

School Principal E.K. Mohammed Shaffe described it as a tragic loss. “Owais was a bright kid. He would always score 90 percent or more in all exams. He was a talented and well-behaved and therefore was a well-liked student,” Shaffe said. “It is a big tragedy, and our prayers and sympathies are with the father. May God give him the strength to overcome this terrible tragedy.”

Traffic officials repeatedly advise motorists to exercise caution while on the road through local newspapers and broadcast outlets. “Better late then sorry should be the dictum for all,” said the Eastern Province traffic police chief.

Saudi Arabia’s highways remain among the deadliest in the world. In 2008, more than 6,400 people were killed and more than 36,000 were injured in traffic accident