ISLAMABAD: A road collision involving a US embassy vehicle in Islamabad on Sunday morning killed an elderly woman and injured five members of the same family on its way to a funeral, according to police reports.

A spokesman from the US embassy, Joe Weirichs, told Arab News that a collision had indeed occurred, but declined to give more details. He added that local media reports of the incident did not reflect what really happened.

In recent years, there have been several road accidents involving diplomatic vehicles of the US embassy and consulates in various cities across Pakistan, leading to a number of fatalities. Most recently, in April 2018, the US defense military attache, a senior diplomat, was behind the wheel of the car when he hit and killed a motorcyclist in the capital. 

The embassy vehicle was being driven by a Pakistani driver, who has been taken into police custody and the car seized. It is unclear if there were other people in the car at the time of the accident.

Sunday’s injured and dead were shifted to a nearby hospital. According to the First Information Report (FIR) issued against the driver by the deceased’s son, the US embassy car, an SUV, was speeding when it hit the small Suzuki Khyber of the local family. A minor girl is reportedly in critical condition.

No press statement on the incident has so far been issued by the US embassy.