A court in Egypt’s Menoufia governorate has sentenced a truck driver to 15 years in prison for causing a crash that killed 19 people on the regional ring road in late June.
Eighteen of the victims were girls aged between 14 and 23, travelling in a microbus that was hit by the truck near the town of Ashmoun on 27 June. The microbus driver also died in the collision.
Prosecutors said the driver was under the influence of hashish and methamphetamine at the time of the crash. He was also found to be speeding, driving without a licence, and going against the flow of traffic.
The court also sentenced the truck’s owner to five years in prison for knowingly allowing the driver to operate the vehicle without a valid licence, in breach of traffic laws.
The case has drawn public attention amid growing concern over road safety in Egypt. Grieving relatives gathered at the courthouse, with emotional scenes reported outside the courtroom as the trial began.
On Tuesday, prosecutors in Sharqia ordered the detention of 11 drivers after footage circulated showing vehicles travelling against traffic on the 10th of Ramadan–Belbeis road. Two of the drivers tested positive for cannabis.
Meanwhile, on 5 July, a separate crash on the same stretch of the Regional Ring Road near Menoufia left 10 people dead and another 10 injured when two microbuses collided.
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