Driver slapped with €2,500 fine for injuring pedestrian in Gżira accident
The accident took place nearly six years ago
A woman was fined €2,500 after she was found guilty of injuring a pedestrian through negligent and dangerous driving in an accident dating back nearly six years ago.
Marica Stephanie Gatt had been arraigned and accused of causing grievous bodily harm to the elderly woman by negligence. She was further accused of reckless, dangerous and negligent driving.
A police sergeant testified through an affidavit that the police received a report about a woman who was allegedly hit by a car on St Albert Street in Gżira on July 15, 2020.
The police went on site and found the elderly woman sitting on a chair and the vehicle, which was allegedly involved in the incident.
The elderly woman testified before a judicial assistant appointed by the court, explaining how three years earlier she was hit by a car. The woman explained that the incident happened between Triq il-Freres and St Albert Street. The woman testified that she turned to cross the road, and as soon as she put her foot on the pavement, she was hit in the back and fell to the ground.
The driver of the vehicle that allegedly hit her did not stop but instead turned onto St Albert Street.
As a result of the incident, the woman sustained a fracture in her right leg and was hospitalised for over two months.
In its considerations, the court observed that the woman testified that she had just got off the pavement when she was hit by a car that drove off.
It was observed that the junction where the incident took place was quite wide and that there are two stop signs before one emerges on St Albert Street.
Moreover, the court said one needs to pay extra attention to pedestrians since the junction is also close to a residential area and there are several shops as well as a school, but there is no pedestrian crossing.
The court then considered the route taken by the vehicle being driven by Gatt, who was driving along Triq Freres and turned onto St Albert Street.
It noted that for the vehicle to do so, it had to stop twice.
The court ruled that the accused did not pay proper attention as required by law and in accordance with the Highway Code regulations while driving on the road, noting that there was no obstacle in Gatt’s way or a sudden emergency.
Gatt was fined €2,500 and disqualified from holding a driving licence for three months.
Magistrate Antoine Agius Bonnici presided over the case.