Drunk man charged with grievously injuring person he pushed onto oncoming car almost killing him

A 25-year-old construction worker from Gżira was granted bail after pleading not guilty to a string of offences after allegedly pushing another man into the road while heavily intoxicated, moments before the victim was hit by a passing vehicle and left in a critical state.

Christian Calì, who resides in a social home Gżira, was arraigned under arrest before the Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.

The incident unfolded at around 9:50am on 22 November. According to prosecutors, a confrontation began inside a shop in St Julian’s, where Calì was allegedly aggressive and visibly very drunk. Witnesses said the argument escalated as the men left the shop and crossed the road.

At one point, Calì allegedly shoved the victim, off the pavement and straight into the road, where he was immediately run over by a passing car. The victim was found unconscious at the scene and later certified as “close to death” by medical staff. He has since stabilised but remains seriously injured.

Calì faces charges of causing grievous bodily harm, insulting and threatening the victim, breaching the peace, being drunk and incapable of taking care of himself in a public place, causing minor damage to property belonging to Rennie Pace, and recidivism.

Inspector Turner testified that Calì was arrested shortly afterwards. On 23 November, during interrogation, where the defence was present, the accused chose to exercise his right to silence. His arrest was not contested.

The defence requested bail, arguing that there was no risk of witness tampering since key civilian witnesses had already testified.

They emphasised Calì had been living in a social home and had only recently managed to secure work in the construction sector, describing him as someone “trying to turn his life around”. They stressed the presumption of innocence and argued that the fall into the road could still be interpreted as an unfortunate accident.

The prosecution strongly opposed the request, stressing the extreme seriousness of the injuries, the strength of the evidence, and the accused’s state of severe intoxication at the time of the incident. Prosecutors argued that Calì’s prior criminal record, coupled with the danger posed when he is heavily drunk, created a real risk of reoffending.

They also noted the victim’s critical condition, described in court as “in danger of dying”, was a direct result of the accused’s sudden push while intoxicated, rather than the driver’s actions.

The prosecution was led by Inspector James Turner, assisted by AG lawyer Mireya Borg, while lawyers Jose Herrera and Martina Herrera represented the accused. Magistrate Monica Vella presided.