Driver jailed five months after hitting pedestrian in Ħamrun

A 23-year-old man who struck a pedestrian while driving an uninsured car in Ħamrun has been jailed for five months after being convicted of careless driving and a number of other offences.

Maruan Alsudi Matar, a Syrian national without a fixed residence in Malta, was found guilty of careless driving, driving without valid insurance, temporarily taking or using the vehicle without its owner’s consent, property damage, and recidivism.

He was, however, acquitted of driving without a valid licence, reckless and dangerous driving and negligently causing grievous injuries to the pedestrian.

The accident

The case concerned a traffic accident on Triq Joe Sciberras in Ħamrun on 7 August 2026 when Matar was driving a Volkswagen. 

Police from the Roads Policing Unit were called to the scene, where they found the vehicle with severe damage to its headlight, bumper, mudguard and windscreen.

The woman was found with visible head injuries and was taken to hospital, where she was certified as having sustained life-threatening injuries.

Inspector Nathan Bugeja testified that when Matar was asked to produce his driving licence at the scene, he claimed to hold a Bulgarian driving licence.

Police checks showed that no driving licence was registered in his name in Malta, while officers also established that he was not insured to drive the Volkswagen.

Drug and alcohol tests carried out on Matar yielded negative results.

The court also noted that Matar was listed on the National Stop List Alert after a return order had been issued following a previous criminal conviction.

The court had to consider whether Matar's conduct amounted to careless, reckless or dangerous driving.

According to the police investigation, Matar had a clear view of the road, which was straight and had no blind corners. The victim had already crossed approximately three-quarters of the road when she was struck.

Investigators also concluded from the damage to the vehicle that Matar had been travelling at around 30km/h, below the applicable speed limit.

However, the court stressed that driving below the speed limit did not in itself mean that a motorist had exercised the necessary degree of care. A driver remained obliged to keep a proper lookout and pay attention to what was happening on the road.

Guilty of five charges

The court observed that Matar himself had admitted that he had not seen the woman before the collision.  

Given the characteristics of the road, his visibility and the fact that the pedestrian had already crossed most of it, the court concluded that the accident could have been avoided had Matar been sufficiently attentive.

His conduct therefore amounted to careless driving.

Matar was also found guilty of temporarily taking or using the Volkswagen without its owner's consent.

The vehicle's owner testified that although Matar had previously driven the car, he had not given him permission to use it on the day of the accident since he was asleep. The court accepted his evidence and found the charge proved beyond reasonable doubt.

The prosecution also established that Matar was a recidivist after producing a final judgment delivered by the Court of Magistrates on 6 August 2025.

An insurance certificate exhibited during proceedings established that Matar was not covered to drive the Volkswagen, and he produced no evidence showing otherwise.

The court therefore found him guilty of driving without insurance.

Matar was also found guilty of negligently causing damage to property belonging to the vehicle’s owner.

Licence, grevious injury charges not proven

Matar had told police from the outset that he held a Bulgarian driving licence, although he did not have the document with him. A subsequent police search at his residence failed to locate it.

However, the court noted that no representative from Transport Malta had been called to testify as to whether Matar held a valid foreign driving licence.

It held that Matar's failure to produce the licence himself could not automatically lead to the conclusion that he had been driving without one.

He was therefore acquitted of driving without a valid licence.

Matar was also acquitted of negligently causing grievous injuries to the victim through carelessness, recklessness, lack of skill or failure to observe regulations.

Although there was evidence that she had been injured in the collision, the court found that the prosecution had failed to produce admissible medical evidence establishing the nature and classification of those injuries. A medical expert had been appointed during the proceedings but the expert was not called to testify.

While Inspector Bugeja had exhibited a medical certificate concerning the woman’s injuries, the court held that the document could not be treated as admissible proof without the necessary viva voce medical evidence.

The court therefore acquitted Matar on that count.

In determining the sentence, the court took into account Matar's cooperation with police, while also noting that this was his second conviction for driving without insurance.

The court sentenced Matar to five months' effective imprisonment. 

He was also disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for one year.

Inspector Nathan Bugeja prosecuted.

Magistrate Elaine Rizzo presided over the case.