Car crashes into double-parked truck in Sliema, seriously injuring deliveryman
The accident happened as he unloaded cargo from a pick-up
Updated 9.40am
A deliveryman was seriously injured when he was hit by a car at the Sliema Strand on Wednesday morning.
The accident happened at about 7.30am when a Y-plate Peugeot 3008 driven by a 42-year-old Libyan man crashed heavily into the back of the double-parked truck that the worker, a 57-year-old resident of St Paul's Bay, was unloading cargo from.
It happened in an area where there are no unloading bays.
The man was taken to hospital in an ambulance and police later described his condition as serious.
The busy road was closed, creating a long line of traffic. Sliema Mayor John Pillow asked motorists to avoid the area.
The car crashed heavily into the delivery van.A report commissioned by a Sliema resident last year found that the extension of outdoor seating areas in some parts of the Strand create a hazard for cars driving on the inner lane which tend to steer their cars towards the outer lane increasing the “probability of a collision”.
The situation also becomes more dangerous if there is a delivery vehicle, which is forced to stop in the middle of the road, as there are no loading bays available, the report by Shield Consultants said.
“The fact that this situation has been allowed to develop into its current state shows a total lack of consideration given to safety of anyone,” it said.
Sliema resident Anna Maria Baldacchino, a member of the Sliema Residents Group, who lives on The Strand decided to commission the study after her pleas to authorities on a range of issues were ignored.
On Wednesday she pointed out that she had unfortunately been proven right.
"Unfortunately what I predicted came to pass much to the detriment of this young man. Unfortunately, what I predicted in the risk assessment I commissioned and you ignored happened and resulted in tragedy," she said in comments addressed to the authorities.
"Unfortunately, my words fell on deaf ears. We were promised quality of life. Go and tell this young guy about his quality of life now. This could have been avoided and prevented. Stop looking at money only and start thinking about your citizens. These enclosures and outside catering establishments on roads, have to be revoked before a worse accident happens with multiple fatalities. Can you sleep at night? Sunday is Mother's day. Which one of you is going to face his mother, grandmother, wife etc?"