Driver gets two years for road rage stabbing

A man with substance abuse problem has been jailed and disqualified from driving after a court found him guilty of greviously injuring another man during a road rage incident.

The court had heard how Zebbug resident, Frankie Falzon, 33, pulled out a knife and stabbed Philip Micallef in April 2011, perforating his lower bowel after the two disagreed on who was to give way in a narrow road.

On the day of the stabbing, Falzon had been driving in Triq il Kbira, Zebbug at around 8:45pm with his wife and three children when his vehicle came face to face with a vehicle driven by Micallef. The court was told how cars parked on both sides of the road at the time had effectively rendered it a single carriageway.

Initially, neither of the two drivers wanted to give way to the other however on the insistence of his daughter, Falzon eventually reversed to give the other car space. As the two cars drew alongside each other, words were exchanged, Micallef got out of his vehicle to confront Falzon. Falzon also alighted from his car, taking with him a pocketknife that he kept in the car.

As the two came face to face, Falzon stabbed Micallef in the abdomen, perforating his large bowel. The police were subsequently called and arrests were made. Breathalyzer tests indicated that Falzon was legally intoxicated at the time.

Micallef had told the court that Falzon had banged his fist on his car’s window and door and that he got out of his car to inspect the damage. It was only after he noted down the number plate and got back in the car that his wife told him he we was bleeding.

The two wives also got out and started arguing, with Micallef’s wife taking Falzon’s car keys to prevent him leaving the scene. She testified that the accused got out of the car again and started shouted in her face.

The wife of the accused had said that Micallef had punched their vehicle as they drew alongside each other and immediately after, he had started arguing with her husband. She heard Micallef’s wife mention a pocketknife and calling for someone to ring the police station. She claimed Falzon had only walked over to the car to pick up a cigarette.

During the course of proceedings, the original charge of attempted murder was replaced by the prosecution with one of grievous bodily harm.

The court also took into account a report by the accused’s probation officer who said that he had been uncooperative with the agency whilst on bail and under a supervision order, also noting that the accused had been a cocaine user.

The court, describing itself as “convinced that the accused’s credibility was suspect, as was his version of the sequence of events”, held that the accused got out of his car upon noticing Micallef had stopped and it was at this moment that he pulled out the knife and stabbed Micallef.

Falzon was sentenced to two years' imprisonment, disqualified him from driving for five years and ordered to pay a fine of €116.47 for carrying a knife without a licence.