Student killed in flat-tyre roadside crash

A flat tyre on a busy road is something most drivers in Kuwait will face at some point. You pull over, put on your hazard lights, and wait for help. It’s a routine most of us don’t think twice about. A tragedy in Dubai this month is a reminder of how dangerous that ordinary wait can become when another driver is speeding.

Naifa Balkies Hameed, a 21-year-old final-year architecture student at Canadian University Dubai (CUD), died on 5 November after a speeding car reportedly ran over her on Al Khawaneej Street in Al Rashidiya. She had been standing behind her car, which had a flat tyre, when she was hit. Her family in Kerala is now speaking publicly, hoping her story makes other drivers think twice before speeding, much like the message behind our own coverage of a speeding driver jailed in Kuwait this month.

What happened that day

Naifa was driving her brother Nihal Hameed’s car, which had not been used for several days because he was in Kerala. According to her uncle, the car developed a flat tyre on Al Khawaneej Street.

She called her father, Binu Hameed, to tell him about the flat tyre. He told her to contact roadside assistance and take a taxi to university once the car had been towed. About five minutes later, he called her again. This time, she did not answer.

Her uncle later told Gulf News that police informed the family Naifa had been standing behind her car when the speeding vehicle struck her. The family said police told them the other driver had been arrested, though this has not been independently confirmed by Dubai Police at the time of writing.

Who was Naifa Hameed?

Naifa was originally from Thodupuzha in Kerala, India. She had returned to Dubai with her mother, Seena, so she would not miss her classes, while the rest of her family stayed back in Kerala after attending a wedding.

Her professor at CUD, Assistant Professor Sanjeewa Pushpakumara, remembered her as the student who never missed a word in his lectures every Monday morning.