Father deemed to be partly responsible for traffic accident that led to his 10-year-old daughter’s death

A father was found to have been partly responsible for a traffic accident with another vehicle that led to the death of his 10-year-old daughter.

The driver of the other vehicle, 25-year-old Mariano D’Amato was given a one-year jail term suspended for three years for involuntarily causing her death.

The accident took place on 4 July, 2010 at Ħal Far road, when the father, Peter Zahra, pulled out of a side and turned right, crossing both the lane heading to Ħal Far and the one to Gudja in the process.

Mr D’Amato’s Hyundai rearended Mr Zahra’s Maruti Jeep at considerable speed, with court experts estimating that he was travelling at close to 150km/h at the time.

Mr Zahra’s wife was sitting in the front of the Maruti, while their 10-year-old daughter Nicole sat at the back.

The daughter was not wearing a seat belt at the time as that particular vehicle does not have rear seat belts.

She was rushed to hospital unconscious after being assisted by a first-aider who happened upon the accident and certified to be in danger of dying.

She passed away 12 days later having suffered a fractured skull and an inter-cranial haemorrhage.

Dorian Bugelli, who was a front passenger in the speeding Hyundai, said he spotted the Maruti and warned the driver that it was going to pull out.

Court experts said there were 30 to 35-metre brake marks leading up to the point of impact. They dispelled the theory that the Hyundai driver may have been driving on the wrong side of the road.

Dorianne Farrugia, another of the passengers in the Hyundai, said she heard Mr Bugelli warning the driver about the Maruti, though she did not see it as she was sending a message on her mobile at the time. She only lifted up her head at the time of impact.

The Hyundai driver and passengers suffered light injuries.

The court heard that the Hyundai driver had a few drinks before the accident, though there was no evidence that he was drunk at the time.

The victim’s father told the court that he was returning from a family day out together with his wife and daughter.

He said he was not sure if there was a stop sign on the side road he pulled out of, but looked to his right and left nonetheless.

Mr Zahra said he spotted the Hyundai, which he said was far away at the time. He pulled out of the side road in first gear, changed into second gear and then was hit by the other vehicle.

Under cross-examination, Mr Zahra estimated the other vehicle to have been around 230 to 250 metres away when he was pulling out.

In handing down her judgement, Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera said the excessive speed at which the Hyundai driver was travelling at was definitely a contributing factor to the accident, though the father was also partly responsible as he failed to keep a proper lookout while pulling out of the side road onto the main road.

The Magistrate called it an “unfortunate incident” where both parties are partly responsible, though the greatest proportion of negligence was on the accused’s part.

She sentenced the Hyundai driver to one-year imprisonment suspended for three years.

The accusations of speeding and modifying the Hyundai’s engine without notifying Transport Malta were deemed to be timebarred.