A driver who killed two bystanders while performing a stunt has received a death sentence from Saudi Arabian authorities. The driver, known as Mutannish in court records, will be beheaded.
His death has not yet been scheduled. Mutannish had been engaged in the Saudi pastime of drifting, making his car spin and skid at high speeds, when he lost control and plowed into a crowd of men. The practice is also known as hagwalah, and also can include purposely driving in the wrong direction. The video above shows an example of the practice.
Mutannish fled the scene and was later arrested, reported the Saudi newspaper Al Watan.
In a similar case, a driver who killed three while drifting was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2005. But the thrill-seeking problem is growing, and many in the Saudi kingdom read Tuesday's harsher sentence as a warning to others.
In its formal report, the court of Onaiza, which handed down the sentence, authorities wrote that beheading was a suitable punishment "for his heinous deed and to deter others who tamper with the nation's security."
