Driver fined €4,000 for causing death of a friend

A man was today fined €4,000 for having involuntarily caused the death of a pedestrian in Gozo.

Vegetable hawker Joseph Schembri was fined for causing the death of his friend, Salvatore Galea in Pope John Paul II Street in Victoria in January 2010.

Schembri did not see his friend walking on the side of the road and did not apply the brakes of the truck he was driving.

Galea was walking on the road because a boat was obstructing the pavement.

Although Schembri denied carelessness, saying the victim suddenly emerged on the road leaving him no time to react, Magistrate Joe Mifsud said the accident could have been avoided had the driver been more attentive.

Schembri was found guilty of causing the involuntary death through negligence and fined €4,000. He was also disqualified from driving for three months. Damages had already been paid.

In his observations, Magistrate Joe Mifsud expressed concern about the number of traffic accidents in Gozo and said control and supervision