Driver involved in July hit-and-run accident handed fine, license suspension

A driver involved in a hit-and-run accident with a minister’s car has had his license suspended by a court this morning.

Senglea resident Renald Hayman, 32, was fined €200 and had his licence suspended for three months after he was found guilty on charges of dangerous driving, driving on the wrong side of the road, failing to indicate before changing his vehicle’s direction, failing to stop after an accident, performing a U-turn in a prohibited place and causing damage to a vehicle which is owned by the state.

Prosecuting inspector Robert Said Sarreo presented the court, presided by Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera, with an affidavit by Police Sergeant Arthur Rizzo. The sergeant described how, while on duty at Cospicua police station on 13 July 2014 at around 4 pm, he responded to a report about a car driven by Minister Joe Mizzi being hit by a Renault travelling in the wrong lane, in triq ix-Xatt, Kalkara.

In the weeks following the accident, Hayman was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to holding his girlfriend, Maria Vassallo, against her will, threatening and slightly injuring her.

The minister told the police that the driver, instead of apologising, reversed, performed a U-turn and drove off. He noted the licence number and passed it on to the police.

The car was traced to Hayman, who was arrested shortly after inside the Senglea Gunners Club bar, consuming alcohol. It emerged that Hayman was driving his brother’s car, while his brother was serving time in prison.

Hayman said that after the accident, he had panicked and drove on, later going to the bar with a friend to drown his sorrows.

He confessed immediately, telling Rizzo that prior to the accident, he argued with his girlfriend and was upset. Another car was trying to prevent him from overtaking and as he crossed into the wrong lane in order to pass the vehicle, he found himself on a collision course with Mizzi’s car. In spite of braking hard, the two vehicles collided.