A 27-year-old motorist has been cleared of the involuntary homicide of a motorcyclist in a traffic accident in 2017 after a court ruled that the victim was to blame for the accident that cost him his life.
Benjamin Schembri, from Ħamrun, was found not guilty of killing 60-year-old motorcyclist Paul Fenech from Birkirkara in a traffic accident in his hometown on November 9, 2017. The accident happened in Triq il-Kbira San Ġużepp at 10.50pm.
The collision was between a Honda motorcycle, driven by Fenech, and a BMW driven by Schembri. A Citroen C3 with a 60-year-old woman from Swieqi at the wheel was also involved in the accident.
The victim, who was returning home after finishing his shift at Malta Dairy Products, was rushed to Mater Dei Hospital by ambulance but was certified dead.
Schembri was charged with causing Fenech’s death through negligence, dangerous driving and excessive speed.
But Magistrate Nadine Sant Lia ruled that Schembri could not be found guilty of the charges brought against him because the evidence and versions of several eyewitnesses showed that he was not the one to blame for the accident.
The court heard Schembri explain that a motorcyclist suddenly emerged from an alley and straight into the road, giving him no time to manoeuvre.
“It all happened in a fraction of a second,” he told the court.
He said he had stopped to buy a drink from a nearby takeaway and had just left his parking spot, so he couldn’t have been driving that fast. He was on his way to Valletta to meet some friends. His version was corroborated by his passenger, Leon Azzopardi.
After hitting the motorcyclist, the BMW crashed head-on into an oncoming Citroen, injuring the driver and its passengers. A magisterial inquiry into the accident had concluded that Schembri was driving at excessive speed and lost control of his BMW after hitting the motorcyclist, crashing into two other vehicles.
A civil court attributed three-quarters of the blame for the accident to Fenech, concluding that on the basis of the prevailing jurisprudence, the defendant’s responsibility for the accident was minor when compared to the responsibility of the motorcyclist.
While it was true that the BMW was probably being driven at excessive speed, impeding the driver from taking evasive action when the motorcyclist appeared, the accident was not entirely his fault.
The magistrate’s court agreed with these conclusions, saying the police had not presented enough evidence to prove the criminal charges beyond reasonable doubt.
She concluded that none of the evidence showed the defendant’s intention to commit the crime in question.
The driver of the BMW crashed into other cars because he had tried to avoid an impact with the motorcyclist who suddenly emerged from an alley and into a main road.
She therefore cleared him of all the charges brought against him.
Police Inspector Elliot Magro prosecuted, while lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri were defence counsel.