A man who crashed into a car at 150 kilometres an hour after an afternoon drinking, killing a 10-year-old girl, has been ordered to pay her parents €114,000 in compensation.

Mariano D’Amato was driving his modified Hyundai Accent at around 10pm on that fateful day in July 2010 when he smashed into a Maruti Jeep that had just exited onto Ħal Far Road from a side street. The force of impact was so great that the Maruti spun into the air and crashed into the crash barrier across the road. 

Nicole Zahra, who sat at the back of her father’s car with her older sister, was grievously injured in the accident. She suffered severe head injuries and died at Mater Dei Hospital 12 days after the accident.

Mr Justice Lawrence Mintoff heard how Nicole and her family had spent their Sunday afternoon at their field in Birżebbuġa and were on their way home when the accident took place.

Her father, Peter, told the court he was driving out onto the main road from an alley but did not see any cars coming his way. But as soon as he turned onto the main road, his wife drew his attention to a car that was driving towards them at excessive speed. He said he tried to avoid the impact by turning to the right but it was in vain.

He said he remembered his car spinning out of control until it came to a halt. When he got out of the car, he saw that his daughter was unresponsive. The car’s doors would not open but he somehow managed to get her out. A first aider happened to be passing by and told him that his daughter was still breathing, even though she was not moving.

She was rushed to hospital where she was found to have suffered severe head trauma. A court expert testified that the cause of death was a fractured skull and intracranial haemorrhage.

In 2015, Mr D’Amato was found criminally responsible for the accident although the court had also found that Mr Zahra also contributed to the accident. However, the court had found that Mr D’Amato was driving at excessive speed after an afternoon hopping from one bar to another drinking.

It had jailed him for a year suspended for three years and fined him €2,000 after it found that he had modified his engine without the authorities’ permission.

Mr Justice Mintoff heard traffic expert Mario Buttigieg testify that according to his calculations, Mr D’Amato must have been driving at around 150km/hr at the time he stepped on his brakes to try to avoid the impact. The permitted velocity in that road is 80 km/hr. The brake marks measured around 35 metres. Both cars were beyond economical repair.

He said it was evident that Mr D’Amato had failed to keep a proper lookout and had been driving so fast that he did not have enough time to react. The accident happened solely because of his negligence, especially after an afternoon of drinking.

He, therefore, ordered Mr D’Amato to pay the Zahra family €114,057, plus court expenses.