64-year old driver caused crash which left woman disabled, court holds

A 64-year-old driver who, by ignoring a stop sign, had caused a car crash in Mgarr that left a woman partially disabled, has been handed a fine.

Carmel Muscat was fined €2,500 for causing the woman to suffer grievous injury, driving negligently, failing to obey a stop sign and damaging a vehicle belonging to a third party.

The collision occurred in May 2013, after the accused drove through a stop sign, causing the approaching car to swerve into a wall. The driver of that car had suffered a 3% disability and her vehicle was adjudged to be a total loss as a result of the impact.

Magistrate Aaron Bugeja heard on one hand, the victim claiming to have been forced to dodge the accused's car at the last moment, whilst on the other hand, the defendant testifiying that the accident had occurred because she was going too fast and only saw him when it was too late.

The accused claimed that he had seen the victim's car approaching at high speed whilst going around a bend and that he had accelerated from his position to avoid colliding with it.

The court, however, upheld the prosecution's argument, noting circumstantial evidence as well as the police sketch were incompatible with Muscat's account.

The Court of Magistrates as a Court of Criminal Judicature held that Muscat had failed to keep a proper lookout and that this led to this accident.

In addition to imposing the fine, the court ordered that Muscat's driving licence be suspended for three months.