A man driving a car with a worker on the back of it, an accident occurs, and the worker dies; what is the driver's responsibility?

The questioner : A worker rode on the back of his employer's car, and the employer either knew or did not know. On the road, the employer was the one driving the car. The employer made a mistake in driving his car, and this mistake caused an accident that resulted in the death of this worker. What is the ruling on the blood money in the two cases: when the employer knew and when he did not know?

The Shaykh : In my opinion, it is obligatory that the incident be studied in detail regarding the outcome in which the killing occurred. We understood that the driver made some mistake in driving the car. If the passenger had been inside the car, would the experts in driving rule that this prohibited outcome would have occurred anyway due to the driver's mistake? The answer is: would it have occurred or would it not have occurred? If it is obligatory that it would have occurred, then we say this is accidental killing, because the cause is not his riding on the back of the car, but rather his poor driving. Is this clear to you?

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : And if the answer is that if the person had been riding inside the car in a normal way that would not result in killing, then in that case the driver is not responsible, unless he knew that riding in this manner might endanger him and throw him into destruction. In that case, the driver is responsible. Is the answer clear?

The questioner : If you would be kind enough to clarify further, meaning perhaps I ...?

The Shaykh : I say, what is the nature of the car?

The questioner : The car is a pickup.

The Shaykh : A pickup, okay. This man was riding on the back of the car. When you say "back of the car," what do you mean?

The questioner : In the rear cargo box.

The Shaykh : Do you mean on the floor of the car?

The questioner : Approximately on the floor of the car.

The Shaykh : No, my brother, there is no "approximately" in questions; there must be precision. Many of our brothers say "approximately," and this does not resolve the issue.

The questioner : I did not witness the accident.

The Shaykh : You did not witness the accident, so we cannot answer. We need to take the picture. Why did we go back into the details? When I told you now that I want the details, you want the details and I want the details. If you do not have the details, then I do not have the details.