A tragic episode that cost the life of a worker who was hit and dragged by a large truck, manoeuvred by a fellow workmate on a narrow road was classified by the police as a traffic accident so no occupational health and safety report had been filed, a court heard on Tuesday. 

That conclusion, which appears to be highly contested by the victim’s lawyers, triggered some heated discussion when proceedings continued against Davide Manunta, the 35-year-old truck driver facing charges over the involuntary murder of 71-year-old Karmenu Micallef.

The fatality occurred on February 3 last year when Manunta was trying to turn a large Leyland DAF truck in Triq Wied il-Qoron, Birżebbuġa. 

His colleague stepped out of the vehicle so as to give him directions to help him manoeuvre the truck that was heavily loaded with rebar, which the two workers had been instructed to deliver in the area. 

But the delivery ended in tragedy when Micallef was hit and run over several times with the truck’s left wheel before Manunta realised what had happened. 

During a previous sitting, Jeremy Mangion, logistics officer at GP Borg Ltd where both accused and victim were employed, testified about a call from a certain “Pierre” who had requested some metal to be transported to a site at Ħal Far. 

Manunta and Micallef were on duty and lined up for the job.

When testifying last time, Mangion could not supply further details about the caller nor about the particular order which the workers had been instructed to deliver. 

For that reason, he returned to the witness stand on Tuesday, confirming that the metal mesh had been ordered by a certain Pierre Theuma and clarifying that the company’s involvement was limited to transporting the material. 

Theuma was a road contractor who was carrying out road works together with GP Borg Ltd.

At the time of the incident, Theuma’s workers had just finished works at Mġarr and were about to start other works at Ħal Far. 

That was why the contractor had called Mangion’s office requesting the load of metal mesh to be transported to Ħal Far that day.

An invoice for the material ordered by the contractor was also presented in court on Tuesday, prompting parte civile lawyer Franco Galea to question why that document had been issued by another Marsa company rather than GP Borg Ltd. 

“All we had to do with was transport,” said the witness, explaining their workers had only been ferrying the load of 4 x 2.2 mesh from Mġarr to Ħal Far. 

Theuma was to meet the delivery men at a specific spot and then lead the way to the final destination.

Asked by defence lawyer Matthew Xuereb about his involvement in the case, Mangion said that he had simply taken the order and then spoke to Manunta as the next-lined up driver on the day. 

“I don’t leave the company office.” 

The hearing became somewhat animated when the company’s health and safety manager was summoned to testify. 

GP Borg lawyer Charlon Gouder together with the company’s insurance lawyer, Alessia Zammit McKeon, intervened, pointing out that the witness would not answer any questions unless the prosecution declared that no criminal charges were to be issued against him. 

Prosecuting Inspector Jonathan Cassar explained that an OHSA (Occupational Health and Safety Authority) representative would be summoned to confirm that at the next sitting. 

However, presiding Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech pointed out that it was for police to decide whether to prosecute or not and that decision ought to have been taken, given that the incident happened over a year ago. 

After further legal wrangling between the lawyers on either side of the fence, the court declared that it would caution the witness before proceeding with any questions.

“Please what’s going on here,” asked the witness, somewhat bewildered by the heated ping pong in the courtroom. 

The magistrate calmly explained to the witness that he had a right not to answer any self-incriminating questions, administering the caution “once the prosecution has not yet decided…”

The court’s statement was cut short by Gouder who remarked that “the prosecution has decided but is afraid of communicating its decision because of the criticism out there...”

The court warned both company and insurance lawyers that they had no standing in the proceedings and consequently no right to intervene. 

When the witness’s testimony finally got underway, Adrian Calleja said that he had been employed by the company as health and safety manager since November 2016. 

He confirmed that the accident had occurred on a side street. 

Asked by Galea when he had filed a report with OHSA, the witness replied that no such report had been lodged because the police report had “described it as a traffic accident”.

The court directed the prosecution to decide by the next sitting whether any further criminal action was to be taken in relation to this incident.

“You say that you are defence lawyers but you want this poor soul to shoulder it all alone. You’re not defending him [Manunta] but someone else,” the victim’s lawyer charged, addressing the lawyers across the table, whilst pointing at the accused all alone in the dock. 

OHSA representatives had to testify so as to determine the dynamics of the incident, went on Galea, prompting the insurance lawyer to rebut that that issue had been determined in the relative magisterial inquiry.

Franco Debono was also defence lawyer.

The case continues in June.