Serbian man in court over road accident that left four injured

● Accused had offered to drive inebriated friend home

A 27-year old Serbian national was yesterday arraigned before magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, accused of, through imprudence, carelessness, unskilfulness or non-observance of regulations, seriously injuring four people, including one who was in danger of losing her life, when he crashed a car he had been driving.

Bojan Pesic, 27, living in Hamrun, had been at a party in Qormi on 5 March with his friend Esther Mifsud, who had been drinking, rendering her unable to drive.

Given Mifsud’s inebriated state, it was decided that Pesic should drive Mifsud’s car back home after the party ended, at around 12:40am on 6 March.

Two other Serbian friends had also joined Pesic and Mifsud for the ride.

The court heard how Pesic, who had never driven in Malta before, did not know the roads back home, and Mifsud had not been in a condition to give directions. The fact he was driving in the dead of night and that there weren’t any road signs for directions exacerbated the situation, the defence said.

Pesic ended up colliding with another vehicle, which had been coming from the opposite side of the road, seriously injuring its driver and his wife. The wife had later been in danger of losing her life.

Mifsud, Pesic and one of the other passengers in the car Pesic had been driving were also seriously injured in the collision.

Pesic was also accused of having caused damage to Mifsud’s car and the car of the driver he had crashed into, and of driving recklessly, without a license or insurance policy and against the direction of traffic signs. He admitted to the charges. Inspector Robert Vella, prosecuting, told the court that Pesic, who had been breathalysed following the incident, was not found to have been under the influence of alcohol. The police however kept him under arrest due to the gravity of what had happened.

Asking the court to conclude judgment expeditiously, Vella said that Pesic later described his decision to drive the car as “the worst he had ever made.”

The defence said that Pesic’s gesture, which was meant to avoid a breach of law by preventing Mifsud from driving, had led to the accident. It asked the court to consider the mitigating factors of the lack of road directions and adequate road lighting.

Pesic was in Malta on a visa, which expires in May, Vella told the court.

The prosecution did not object to the defence’s request for bail.

The magistrate granted Pesic bail and ordered him to report to the Hamrun police station every day between 7am-7pm. She also requested a deposit of €500 and a guarantee of €4,500.

“If you miss signing the bail book even by a minute, the €500 will be confiscated and you will be arrested again,” she warned the accused.

Judgement is scheduled for 12 March.

Inspector Robert Vella prosecuted. Lawyer Mark Mifsud Cutajar was legal aid for the accused.