Judge confirms prison sentence for drunk driver who killed pedestrian

A three-year prison sentence handed to a drunk driver who mounted a pavement at 100km/hr and killed a pedestrian has been confirmed on appeal.

Michael Caruana Turner, now 24 years old, had been sentenced to imprisonment for three years and banned from driving for a further two years by a magistrate’s court in 2021, after being found guilty of having caused the death of Dutch teenager Tim Scholten and injuring seven others in Gorg Borg Olivier Street, St Julian’s, just before 5am on July 6, 2018. 

Scholten had died of the injuries he suffered, two days later.

The court had been told that Caruana Turner, a fitness coach from Birkirkara, had fled the scene and had been apprehended by the police while running towards the nearby town of San Ġwann.

He was breathalysed and found to be in breach of the legal alcohol limit for motorists. The court of Magistrates had heard how Caruana Turner had been drinking in Paceville before the fatal incident, getting behind the wheel of his car after consuming a beer and six shots of tequila. 

It had emerged that Caruana Turner’s Subaru Impreza was driving at a speed of around 100kph when he clipped the side of the road, and mounted the pavement, leaving a trail of destruction 103 metres long. Before coming to a stop, the vehicle had destroyed street furnishings and trees and mowed down a number of pedestrians who had been walking on the pavement on their way home. 

Caruana Turner’s lawyer had read out a statement in court, expressing the driver’s remorse. “I hate myself because he died because of me. I cannot forgive myself. I’m sorry for everyone involved,” he had said. 

An appeal had been filed against the prison sentence, in which Caruana Turner’s lawyers argued that the court had not taken the findings of a social inquiry report into consideration. The court had also disregarded recommendations made by the prosecuting officer and the fact that he had a clean criminal record, the lawyers said, adding that neither had the fact that he had paid for the damages and had shown remorse for what had happened been taken into account.

Mr. Justice Neville Camilleri presiding the appeal, dismissed these arguments, pointing out that the social inquiry report and Caruana Turner’s clean criminal record had, in fact, been taken into consideration by the first court. 

The settlement of the damages caused was of little consequence when seen from the perspective of having caused the teenager’s death. “This court deems it appropriate to point out that no amount of damages will bring back Tim Scholten to life. That is the real tragedy of this case,” observed the judge.

And while the court had taken note of the fact that the defence and the prosecution had agreed to request a suspended jail term, it highlighted the fact that such agreements did not bind the court. Finding no reason to disturb the punishment handed to Caruana Turner, the court confirmed the sentence.