Jaywalker responsible for own injuries, court holds

A pedestrian who was run over while walking her dogs was to blame for the incident because she had not been crossing the road from a designated crossing, a court has held.

Mary Sultana of Qala was cleared of responsibility for running over Gabriele Helga Whitehouse at Xewkija in March 2014, after magistrate Joe Mifsud held the pedestrian had tried to cross the road recklessly. Medical experts established that Whitehouse, who suffered a broken leg in the incident, had been under the influence of alcohol at the time.

Sultana had been charged with driving negligently, in a dangerous manner and with excessive speed.

Magistrate Joe Mifsud, presiding the Court of Magistrates in Gozo, noted that Whitehouse, who had a drinking problem, had consumed a “considerable amount” of alcohol before going to walk her dogs. The woman's impaired reflexes and motor control had not been helped by the dogs pulling at the leash.

The woman had testified that she crossed the road 20 metres away from a pedestrian crossing after looking both ways and seeing no traffic in either direction. “I thought what’s the point of stopping any traffic when there isn’t none,” she had said.

In his judgement clearing Sultana of all responsibility for the incident, the magistrate said the victim was exclusively responsible for the injuries she had suffered. He opined that the time had come for the legislator to consider imposing sanctions on pedestrians who disobey road regulations.

“While we have sanctions, and rightly so, for drivers who breach traffic regulations, the time has come for pedestrians who disregard the dangers and create unnecessary emergencies, by crossing on red lights or from unsafe crossing points, to answer for their actions.”