Taxi driver fined €1,000 for injuring pedestrian

A taxi driver has been fined €1,000 for causing involuntary bodily harm to a pedestrian who he struck as he pulled out of a parking spot in Paceville in 2008.

Victim Ronald Dimech had told a court that he had been halfway across the road in Gort Street, Paceville on his way home after Mass when a white taxi that had been parked there drove out of its parking place and struck his knee. The incident took place at 8:30pm. The taxi's headlights had not been on, Dimech claimed, adding that despite the streetlights being on, the road was not brightly lit.

The victim suffered fractures and spent five months in hospital as a result, undergoing three surgical interventions.

“I took the decision to cross when I saw that the taxi, white taxi was stationary and the headlights were off and I assumed this taxi isn’t going anywhere, so I crossed the road and as soon as I reached half way the road I found this white taxi on top of me…it wasn’t in the middle of the road, it was on the side but as I said the headlights were off,” the victim had testified.


The driver, Joseph Farrugia, insisted that his headlights were on at the time and that the man had crossed the road unexpectedly. He told the court that he had still been in first gear when the incident occurred. The victim had been two feet away in the dimly lit road, he said.

Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech said that it emerged that the accused's car had been stationary.

The court said it had no reason to doubt the victim's claim that the taxi's lights were off, noting that the same witness had not been selective in his testimony and had found no difficulty in confirming that the taxi had not been driving fast when it struck him and that its driver had got out and tried to help the injured man.

It made no sense for the accused to keep his headlights off, as the road was only dimly lit, the court said. The fact that the injured party was halfway across the road when he was struck, showed that the accused had not been telling the truth when he claimed that the man had suddenly stepped off the pavement and into the road, the court said. “The fact that he had arrived halfway across the road...shows clearly that the accused had not seen him and had braked when it was too late. Had he maybe kept his lights on and, moreover, maintained a proper lookout, this incident could have been avoided.”

Article 152 of the Highway Code places a duty on drivers to ensure their doors are properly closed and to have their headlights on at night.

But the court also noted that the prosecution had failed to exhibit any proof that Dimech had suffered a permanent disability. The testimony of a consultant who had treated him had been removed from the acts of proceedings of a previous court and he had not been summoned to testify. One doctor who had treated Dimech had told the court that he had made a good recovery. Farrugia was cleared of the grievous bodily harm charge as a result.

The court took into account the fact that this case took nearly eight years to be decided, with just the accused, the victim and three doctors having testified. Although the driving was negligent, it was not reckless, said the court. It also accounted for he fact that the accused had been convicted of traffic offences, four years before the accident.

Farrugia was convicted of the lesser offence of involuntary grievous bodily harm and fined €1,000.