Man jailed for 2011 reckless police chase that injured three

A man who injured two police officers and an elderly woman following an intense car chase in 2011 was sentenced to four years in prison and slapped with a €6,900 fine.

The sentence was issued days before the 14th anniversary of the accident, which took place on December 20, 2011. At 11.30am, two police officers had spotted Sean Zammit driving a BMW, despite having been disqualified from driving. 

He was asked to pull over, but he kept driving, so the officers gave chase.

The chase continued as the then 19-year-old ran a red light before turning into Sir William Reid Street, where the road was closed off by a truck being used for road works, and the police were able to block the car from the other side. 

As the police approached Zammit to stop, he reversed and hit Josephine Cesare, a 71-year-old woman who was walking behind the vehicle as she was crossing the road. He also hit two other parked vehicles, the police car, as well as the facade of one of the residences. 

When the police tried to arrest Zammit, one passenger in the car, Loriana Abdilla, intervened and attempted to interfere with the arrest.

Both Zammit and Abdilla resisted arrest, and a scuffle broke out, leading to the police officers sustaining injuries. 

Another woman - his pregnant partner - was also in the car.

Cesare was taken to Mater Dei Hospital, and medical certificates shown in court confirmed she suffered a fracture to her fibula, which was classified as a grievous injury.

Both officers suffered slight injuries. 

Both Zammit and Abdilla were charged with disobeying legitimate police orders, disturbing public order, and using offensive language in public. They were also both charged with inflicting slight injuries on two police officers. 

Abdilla was also charged with violently resisting arrest and threatening police officers. 

Zammit had 11 additional charges, including recidivism, forgery of official documents, grievously injuring a woman, damaging multiple vehicles, driving without a license and insurance and breaching bail conditions. Both had previously pleaded not guilty.

The court could not find proof that Zammit had intentionally harmed the elderly victim, but it held that the grievous harm resulted from his reckless driving.

The court also found that Zammit had attempted to injure police officers by reversing towards them.

The 33-year-old was found guilty of breaching bail conditions, committing offences while under suspended sentences, driving without a licence or insurance, fleeing the scene of an accident and damaging the police’s vehicle.

Abdilla was found guilty of resisting police officers.

Apart from four years' imprisonment, Zammit’s license was suspended, and he was ordered to pay €10,500 in guarantees related to the bail conditions he had breached.

Abdilla was fined €1,000.