Fined €4,000 for involuntary homicide 22 years after fatal incident

Jason Camilleri has been fined €4,000 and had his driving license suspended for five months, after being convicted for dangerous and negligent driving that led to the death of a 10-month-old baby back in August 1992.

A mother and her son who were in the same car were acquitted of the charge of involuntary homicide.

On 7 August, 1992, Camilleri was driving a Ford Anglia when the car broke down on Tal-Balal road, in Gharghur. The driver, then 19, rushed home to take his mother’s vehicle, a Peugeot 106, to tow his car back. He summoned the help of his 13-year-old brother Aaron Camilleri.

Jason Camilleri got into the Peugeot to tow the Ford card, while the younger sibling sat in the Ford’s driving seat to steer the car as it was being tower.

Tragedy struck when the tow rope broke, entangling itself in the front wheel on the right and the car’s stabiliser, with the car veering to the other side of the road and colliding with an oncoming car.

Anthony Zammit, his wife Rita were on the front of the car while four children – Greta and Lynn, 10-month-old twins, 3-year-old Janice and 12-year-old cousin Erica – were on the back seat. The twins had been strapped into baby seats, with Greta rushed to hospital unconscious, Anthony Zammit suffering grievous injuries while his wife and the other baby Lynn slightly injured. Neither the driver nor the front passenger were wearing seat belts.

13-year-old Aaron Camilleri, who was in the Ford car, was unconscious, but later recovered and had stitches done on his forehead and chin. He was pulled out of the vehicle by his own brother.

Inspector Frank Sammut charged 19-year-old Jason Camilleri and his brother Aaron with driving a vehicle while not covered by insurance, driving an unlicensed and uninsured car, the involuntary homicide of Greta Zammit, grievously injuring Anthony Zammit, and causing slight injuries to Rita and Lynn Zammit.

42-year-old Mary Camilleri, had the same charges levelled against her, as the person responsible for the 13-year-old boy.

The testimony of medical expert Victor Grech stated that doctors could not find Greta Zammit’s heartbeat on arrival at the hospital. She was administered medicine and resuscitated. The baby was kept on cardiovascular support ventilation at the Special Baby Unit. However X-rays showed that she had fractured the first two vertebrae. The baby succumbed to the injuries on 24 August, 17 days after the accident. Pathologists Ali Safraz and Marie Therese Camilleri confirmed that the baby had died due to fractured and dislocation cervical vertebrae and necrosis of the brain.

Jason Zammit testified that his mother was unaware that he had asked his younger brother to help him tow the car. “I took my brother with me to help me. I knew he was young and should not drive,” the elder sibling said. Aaron Zammit explained that he had been told to simply steer the car and press on the brake pedal. “I had no experience or knowledge on how to tow cars. The rope snapped and wrapped around the wheel, and the car went sideways. I was injured in the same incident,” he said.

In 2007, both the prosecution and the defence concluded their evidence, but the case was shelved awaiting judgement. It was only after the retirement of presiding Magistrate Joseph Apap Bologna that the case was re-assigned. Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras took over case in April last year.

Defence lawyer Arthur Azzopardi argued that the child seats was not properly secured on the rear seat. “Greta, in particular, was not even tightly strapped in her seat. No abrasion marks were found on her body, contrary to those found on the shoulder of her twin sister. Furthermore the seat was occupied by four children – two of which were snuggled between the car seats,” the lawyer said.

But the court threw out the argument, saying that this was an assumption as no evidence was brought forward to prove this.

The court ruled that minors under 14 were exempt from any criminal responsibility for acts done without intent, clearing Aaron Camilleri, now 35. The charges against Mary Camilleri were also dropped, as it was proven that she was neither aware of what had happened, nor was she present at the site of the incident.

However, Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras convicted Jason Camilleri, now 41, of the involuntary homicide of 10-month old Greta, due to dangerous and negligent driving.

The court ruled that the elderly brother was aware of the risks entailed in putting his younger brother behind the wheel. “Although you could not assume that an incident would follow, you knew he was not licensed to drive a car, and that your actions violated traffic regulations.”

Inspector Pierre Micallef Grimaud prosecuted, while lawyer Arthur Azzopardi appeared for the Camilleri family.