A man who killed a pedestrian when he ran her over while driving at 140km/hr in a 35km/hr speed limit zone has had his high-end sports car returned to him.

Anthony Chircop had the Nissan Skyline GT he was driving at the time of the crash returned to him on due to a procedural error by the prosecution in his initial criminal conviction.

The sports car, an appeals court noted, had never been formally listed in the acts of the case. Therefore, there were no legal grounds on which it could be confiscated, it concluded.

Chircop filed an appeal after a court handed him a two-year prison sentence, suspended for four years, after it found him guilty of the involuntary murder of 30-year-old Stephanie Rapa.

Stephanie Rapa was killed in 2017.

In separate, civil proceedings, he was ordered to pay €324,000 in compensation to Rapa's heirs.  

Rapa was crossing the street in Gżira in October 2017 when Chircop, driving at 140km/hr, ran her over. Rapa’s body flew more than 3m into the air upon impact. She was rushed to hospital but pronounced dead a short while later.

Chircop asked the court of appeal to order the return of his confiscated vehicle, to revoke an €11,646,87 fine imposed on him and to strike off a two-year driving ban imposed on him.

The court of appeal agreed to return the car due to the procedural error but threw out his other requests.

Chircop, it noted, was driving at “extreme” speed and had a history of dangerous driving: he was convicted in 2001 of reckless driving, of driving without a licence in 2014 and drunk driving in 2006.

The fine and driving ban imposed on him by the first court was “more than deserved”, the court said.

Chircop was represented by lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri.