Three dead in accident on Muwaqqar-Azraq road

AMMAN — Three people died in a collision involving two vehicles on the road between Muwaqqar and Azraq on Wednesday, the Central Traffic Department (CTD) said. 

A truck suddenly changed lanes, colliding with a pickup truck, said CTD official Lt. Col. Yaser Habahbeh. 

“The passengers of the pickup died, aged 49, 22 and 24, and two were injured in the accident,” Habahbeh noted. 

On Tuesday, a man in his 30s died in a two-vehicle collision in Maan, 220km south of the capital, due to a sudden lane change, while a 24-year-old was killed in a collision on the Airport Road in Amman’s Marj Al Hamam, according to Habahbeh.

Also in Amman, four young men were injured in a traffic accident on Mecca Street at 4pm, Habahbeh said, adding that one of the victims is in critical condition.  

“The driver lost control of his vehicle and crashed into the kerb,” said the CTD official, noting that the accident caused a traffic jam. 

In Zarqa, 22km northeast of Amman, five people were injured in an accident on the Mafraq highway, the Civil Defence Department said in a statement, adding that they were listed in fair condition in Zarqa Public Hospital.

The death toll in traffic accidents is expected to rise by around 3 per cent in 2016, compared to the previous year, according to the CTD.

A total of 542 people died in around 8,000 accidents during the first nine months of 2016.

There were also 1,270 critical injuries and 12,000 minor injuries in the same period, the CTD said.

During 2015, there were 608 deaths in 9,712 accidents, as well as 2,021 critical injuries and 12,000 minor injuries, according to the department.