A Turkish-born man who lives in Malta has been jailed for 32 months for involuntarily causing the death of a 10-year-old boy through reckless driving.
Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech gave stern warning that the time for focusing on road safety education has long passed and serious and continuous enforcement of road safety regulations must now be strictly maintained.
The incident took place in May 2015 on St Andrew's Road, Swieqi, when a ten-year-old boy was killed after he was run over by a car that was being driven by the accused, Faith Pancar. Experts found that the boy was thrown 26 metres away from the car upon impact.
While the driver was found to be driving recklessly, made worse by the presence of two pedestrian crossings in the vicinity, the victim was found to have also acted negligently by not using either of the crossings at his disposal.
"There is no doubt that the minor did not observe any of the traffic regulations and therefore had a big role in the sinister road accident when he went out into the road suddenly, in a situation where he was allowed to go shopping without any adult supervision".
But Magistrate Frendo Dimech observed that the victim's only mistake was not using pelican crossings. "It was the reckless driver who rendered and transformed the vehicle, an invention to be used as a commodity, into a lethal weapon capable of taking a life". She also suggested the introduction of "Pedestrian Offences", found in the laws of other countries around the world.
Pancar was found guilty of involuntary murder through reckless driving, dangerous driving and speeding.
One of the prosecuting inspectors, Carol Fabri, recounted the tragic scene she found after receiving the call that the ten-year-old boy, Rodwan Aghil, had been run over and died. She described how the accused was in a state of shock and was being seen to by doctors.
Preliminary investigations found that the boy had come out of the side entrance into Luxol leading to the main road. This was confirmed through the presence of blood on the ground.
Police sergeant Roxanne Tabone testified to how Pancar's Peugeot was coming from the direction of Bahar ic-Caq, heading towards the direction of St Julian's, however the car was found on the other lane facing oncoming traffic.
The accused testified that as he was coming down the main road in St Andrew's , close to the Luxol Football Ground side road, the child appeared out of nowhere, very close to the car, meaning that he did not have time to break and could only swerve to the right. He testified to parking the car next to a nearby bus stop and asking a friend who was with him in the car to call an ambulance while he went to check on the boy.
Pancar described finding the boy being tended to by a nurse who happened to be there, while he had blood flowing from his mouth. He said that he immediately fainted after seeing how badly injured the boy was.
A court expert found that the accused had to have been driving at a minimum speed of 70km/h and that the entire incident happened in the space of 0.374 seconds.
A traffic expert concluded that the accused "was driving at a higher speed than is permitted" and that despite this, he still "had the obligation to seriously reduce speed while he was passing from St Andrew's Road, more so due to the presence of pedestrian crossings".
The traffic expert also concluded however that the victim did not use either of the two pedestrian crossings found in the vicinity.
"This fact indicates that serious shortcoming of the victim and it should be acknowledged that there is a chance that there could be contributory negligence on behalf of the victim," the traffic expert added, while still stressing that the accused failed to keep a proper look out in an area close to pedestrian crossings.
In addition to the jail term, the accused has also been ordered to pay a fine worth €3,084.
from The Malta Independent http://ift.tt/2xHbbU9
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