Driver's lucky escape

The driver of a refuse truck escaped with minor injuries yesterday after he lost control of his vehicle and careened into a parked car, the truck's front slamming down a short height, and the parked car sent flying onto the bridge over Victoria Gate in Valletta.

The driver's colleagues from the Public Cleaners Cooperative said that Martin Mifsud, 32, had started doing the rounds at 5 p.m., and the accident happened at 5.40 p.m.

Mr Mifsud was driving down Battery Street, which leads to St Barbara Bastions, when he lost control; the top of the truck hit the bastions and spun in the opposite direction into a white Renault Clio.

Eyewitnesses said Mr Mifsud managed to jump out of the truck before it hit the Clio.

The Clio was pushed through the metal railings and thrown onto the bridge, landing on its side at a lower level, and knocking off a stone slab which went crashing down one storey.

Luckily no cars were passing under Victoria Gate at the time - if they had, the stone would probably have landed on them.

The Clio was extensively damaged. Its owner - who works at a Turkish guarantee bank - was immediately informed and rushed to the site.

"My first concern was the driver of the truck, who was sprawled in the middle of the road. Luckily he was not in a bad shape. I think that if my car were not parked there, the truck may have kept going off the bridge," the owner said.

Police sources said the accident could have been caused after the truck's brakes failed.

Valletta Police are investigating.