A truck driver charged with causing the death of a workmate he allegedly ran over could never have manoeuvred the large vehicle on the narrow road where the incident took place, a traffic expert testified.

Davide Manunta, 35, was trying to turn the large Leyland DAF truck in Triq Wied il-Qoton, Birżebbuġa on February 3, 2022, when he knocked down and ran over his fellow worker, 71-year-old Karmnu Micallef of Mġarr.

Micallef had stepped out of the truck to give directions to the driver.

The two workers were transporting rebar to a construction site in the area. 

But the work assignment ended up in tragedy when the driver knocked down the victim, running over him several times with the truck’s left wheel before realising what had happened.

The victim suffered extensive head injuries. 

The truck driver was charged under summons in January, pleading not guilty to involuntary homicide. 

Traffic expert Mario Buttigieg, appointed to assist in the magisterial inquiry, had spoken to various people at the accident site, including the truck driver who was given his right to silence. 

The expert had also photographed the scene and presented his report to the inquiring magistrate. 

Under questioning by a lawyer representing the victim’s family, the witness explained that the long vehicle could never have been manoeuvred around in that narrow stretch of road.

In fact, the vehicle had ended up partly jutting onto a field by the roadside. 

Suggestions by the family lawyer that the responsibility of the truck driver’s employer was also to be considered, were met by objections from the defence.

The court, presided over by Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, observed that the direction of the case was a matter for the prosecution and not the victim. 

The case continues in March.

Inspector Jonathan Cassar prosecuted. Lawyers Franco Debono and Matthew Xuereb were defence counsel. Lawyers Franco Galea and Roberto Spiteri appeared parte civile.