The rented electric car in which Ben Laferla, 21, was killed in a crash last September was not being driven by an underage girl but by another 21-year-old man, a court has been told.

This is contrary to the police report released after the accident on September 24, which had placed a 17-year-old girl at the wheel, leading to questions about how she could have been allowed to drive.

But the girl later admitted that the actual driver was in such shock that she stepped in and “spontaneously” told police she had been driving, a police prosecutor revealed in court last week.

She thought she would not face criminal charges because she was underage, Inspector Jean Paul Attard said.

New details about the fatal crash and its aftermath emerged after 21-year-old Maxime Asacha Muehlematter, the alleged driver, was charged with the involuntary homicide of Laferla.

The student from Swieqi was also charged under summons with having caused grievous injuries to a 20-year-old Chilean woman.

Both were passengers, along with the 17-year-old girl, when the electric Renault Zoe, rented from GoTo, crashed into a wall in Triq il-Madliena, Swieqi at about 1.30am on September 24.

Muehlematter also faces charges of involuntary damage to the car, careless and negligent driving, driving under the influence and breaching traffic rules.

Attard was stationed at St Julian’s police station when a call came in alerting the police to an accident involving multiple casualties, he testified.

'All four passengers were hurt, in a state of shock'

He said all four passengers, two males and two females, were hurt and in a state of shock when emergency medics rushed to the scene. Other people had stopped to assist.

A badly injured Laferla was given CPR by paramedics on site.

The 17-year-old girl, later identified as the girlfriend of the accused, told police that she was the driver and her story was captured on police bodycam footage.

At the back of the crashed vehicle the police found two bottles of Jäegermeister and Captain Morgan rum, both three-quarters empty.

The front seatbelts were elongated but those at the back were both stiff, indicating that they had not been used, Attard said.

There was no CCTV footage from the area that could assist investigators.

The parents of the 17-year-old “driver” were asked to call at hospital so that she could be subject to a breathalyser test after being given medical treatment. Test results showed there was no alcohol in her system.

She and her boyfriend had suffered slight injuries but the other female passenger was grievously injured and Laferla was in critical condition.

When questioned in hospital, the teenager said she did not remember anything. It was dark and she had crashed into a wall, she said.

She and her boyfriend thought that all was okay but when they looked at the back seat “it was a mess”.

Laferla certified as brain dead a few days later

A few days later, Laferla was certified as brain dead.

The Chilean woman was discharged from the neurosurgical ward on September 27.

Meanwhile, the police found that the vehicle had been rented by the accused using his driving licence.

While his girlfriend had suffered an abrasion on her left shoulder, he had lesions on the right pectoral region.

The nature of those injuries raised police suspicions as to who had actually been driving the right-hand drive vehicle, Attard explained.

When they spoke to the accused and his girlfriend again, both confirmed that Muehlematter had been driving.

The couple had met Laferla and the other woman near Greens Supermarket, Swieqi.

They bought some alcohol, had a drink and headed to St George’s Bay in a rented car.

They had a few more drinks and switched to another rented vehicle, namely the Renault Zoe, before driving to Top of the World at Għargħur.

The crash took place as they were heading back to the Swieqi home of the accused.

But they were unable to describe the accident, Attard told the court.

Girlfriend of accused stepped in to take blame

The accused explained that he was in shock and unable to speak and that was why his girlfriend had stepped in to take the blame.

The girl later confessed that she “knew it was a bad situation and [she] spontaneously thought that once [she] was underage [she] would not be charged”.

Only later did she realise that she was interfering in the investigation and diverting the course of justice.

Earlier this month, the girl was charged under summons before another magistrates’ court, pleading guilty to her role in the incident. She was conditionally discharged.

Questioned by parte civile lawyers, the inspector said there were no brake marks on site and the car bumper was found a few metres away from the spot where the Renault hit the wall on the driver’s side.

The case, presided over by Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, continues.

Inspector Jean Paul Attard is prosecuting. Francois Dalli is defence lawyer. Lawyers Mark Mifsud Cutajar and Maria Azzopardi are appearing parte civile.