Motorist guilty of reckless driving

A woman has been fined Lm100 after an appeal court found her guilty of seriously injuring a motorist due to reckless driving two years ago.

Natasha Mohnani was originally cleared of causing involuntary bodily harm to Philip Alfred Tonna when she failed to come to a halt at a stop sign on June 10, 2000 at about 2 p.m.

The Attorney General had appealed insisting the Magistrates' Court's judgment should be quashed.

Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono heard how a collision occurred when Mohnani was trying to drive onto the main road form a side road. The junction between the two roads was marked by a stop sign.

Mohnani claimed she had only noticed Tonna approach, at a high speed, when he was at less than a car's distance away from her. She insisted she had not seen him before because her view was obstructed by the shrubbery on the side of the road.

However, the judge ruled that had she noticed Tonna when he was less than a car's distance away she could not have known that he was speeding.

He also noted that, as a side road user, Mohnani had failed to stop to explore the main road before charging into it. She had also failed to keep a proper lookout.

Mr Justice Galea Debono suspended Mohnani's driving licence for eight days.