17-year-old arrested over fatal hit-and-run, hours after fleeing scene
Passenger grievously injured, driver arrested hours after motorcyclist was killed
Updated 12.30pm with more details
Police have arrested an underage driver believed to have been behind the wheel of a car that killed a 42-year-old motorcyclist in a horrific hit-and-run in Birkirkara early on Sunday.
The driver, a 17-year-old boy, and an 18-year-old passenger, both from Qormi, were arrested hours after the accident, after fleeing the scene on foot.
Initial investigations suggest a Maserati Levante crashed into a Kymco motorbike driven by the victim, a 42-year-old Nepalese man, residing in Birkirkara. The incident happened at 5.20am on Triq Salvu Psaila.
Following the impact, the car crashed into three parked vehicles.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, while the 17-year-old car driver and two passengers left the scene.
One of the passengers, an 18-year-old girl from Mosta, was found a short distance away from the accident and was arrested. She was taken to Mater Dei Hospital, and was later certified to be suffering grievous injuries. It is not yet known if the driver and the other passenger sustained any injuries.
The Maserati is owned by the driver's father, who was also arrested by the police.
Other cars were damaged in the crash. Photo: Matthew MirabelliThe fatal accident has sparked widespread anger on social media platforms.
Magistrate Philip Galea Farrugia is leading an inquiry into the crash.
The fatal accident comes days after a taxi crashed into a hairdresser's salon in Santa Venera. The cab was being driven by a 42-year-old man who resides in St Paul's Bay, who was taken to the hospital after sustaining slight injuries in the crash.
According to recent official statistics, 18 people have died on Malta's roads, with six people dying in July alone. The deadliest week on Malta's roads in at least 25 years was marked between July 23 and 29.
Among the six victims were a driving instructor crushed by a runaway bus, a motorcyclist and a pedestrian killed in a crash involving a parked car. On the same week, three others were killed in unrelated violent incidents, in one of the bloodiest weeks in Malta on record.
Mildred Azzopardi was crushed to death after a vehicle ploughed into a parked car, fatally hitting the 62-year-old on July 27.
On impact, the car crashed into three parked vehicles. Photo: Malta Police Force