Driver fined, banned from driving for 6 months after causing grievous injuries in head-on crash

A driver who crashed into an oncoming car to avoid a cement truck which cut across his lane has been fined and banned from driving.

29 year-old Clint Mifsud of Hamrun was accused of causing grievous bodily harm to Godwin Marmara’ in a traffic accident on Salina road on 27 June 2014. He was also charged with dangerous driving and causing damage to another vehicle.

The accident which happened in the area known as the Telgha t’Alla w Ommu was a head-on collision that occurred after Mifsud swerved into oncoming traffic to avoid a ReadyMix truck which suddenly changed lanes to enter a side street. The victim’s car ended up on the pavement, knocking down a wall.

The 72 year old victim lost his independence as a result of the accident and ended up with one leg shortened by an inch. He was knocked out by the impact and after regaining consciousness had slid out of his smoking car, fearing it would catch fire. The court heard how the man spent 3 months in hospital with internal haemorrhages and fractures and had to be flown to the UK to have a supporting implant surgically installed.

The court also heard an eyewitness say he was following the ReadyMix truck when it turned. At that point, he said, he saw a car bearing down on him coming the wrong way with its “brakes screaming” and tyres smoking. He managed to dodge the oncoming vehicle, which hit the car behind him.

The accused, Clint Mifsud, took the witness stand in 2014, telling the court that he had suddenly found the truck in his path and had swerved into the other lane to avoid colliding with it. It all happened so quickly that he was unable to use his brakes, he said, adding that he had been travelling at a moderate speed - “no more than 60km/hr” at the time.

The court ruled that the responsibility for the incident was entirely the accused’s. The defence of sudden emergency could not stand as the collision was caused by the accused’s non observance of regulations, said magistrate Josette Demicoli.

Referring to many previous decisions by the courts, the magistrate held that the incident was solely the accused’s fault, as he was travelling too fast to stop when the truck drifted into his lane and had not been keeping a proper lookout. “It emerges that the truck suddenly crossed his path without using the indicator and this is certainly condemnable, but a ReadyMix truck is a vehicle of a certain weight that cannot make this manoeuvre at high speed. The accused was not paying attention to what was happening in front of him… and besides, his speed was excessive.” The court said it had concluded that the man was speeding due to the extent of the damage caused to the cars.

The accused had also been inconsistent in his accounts of what happened and this indicated that he was not paying attention said the court. “The truth is that the accused saw the truck change lanes when it wasn’t all that close to him, but he realised that at the speed he was travelling with he would not be able to stop.” Had the accused been travelling at 60km/hr as he had claimed, the incident would have been avoided, said the magistrate.

In its deliberations on punishment, the court observed that the man had a clean criminal record and opted to impose a fine which would not be close to the minimum “so that the accused will understand that when he is driving he must do so responsibly.”

Mifsud was fined €4,000 and disqualified from driving for 6 months.

Laywer Simon Micallef Stafrace was defence counsel. Lawyer Arthur Azzopardi appeared parte civile for the victim. Inspector Josric Mifsud prosecuted.