UPDATE: Man Arrested for Twin Falls Parking Lot Hit-and-Run
TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KLIX)- A foreign student living in Twin Falls is behind bars accused of aggravated battery for a hit-and-run accident that sent a handyman to the emergency room.
According to court documents, Twin Falls Police were called to hit-and-run at an apartment complex just before the noon hour May 25th on Elizabeth Boulevard. Witnesses told police they had seen a white Toyota Avalon speeding in the parking lot.
The manager stopped the car and spoke to Meshal Alghunaim, 22, and told him to slow down. The manager told police the driver got angry and sped off. Court documents indicated that Alghunaim was a refugee from Saudi Arabia.
Since this story was published the College of Southern Idaho has come forward saying he is an international student, not a refugee. Doug Maughan, spokesperson for the college, says the International Student organization at the school gets a number of students each year from countries around the world. He says Saudi Arabia is certainly not a country they receive refugees from.
The maintenance man for the apartment stepped into the drive to slow the car down and was hit by Alghunaim's vehicle. The handyman was thrown over the car and onto the pavement sending him to the emergency room with injuries to his arms and hands. Witnesses claim the car swerved towards the man that was hit.
According to police, they later found the vehicle with a broken windshield. Alghunaim told police he had gotten into an argument with a woman while leaving after visiting a friend at the apartment.
He claims he got scared when a man jumped in front of his car when he tried to leave. He then told police he called family and spoke to someone with the Refugee Program. Alghunaim was arrested and charged with aggravated battery.
Editor's note: the story reflects the correction that Alghunaim is not a refugee but rather an international student at CSI. Court documents indicated the defendant was a refugee.