A motorist whose drunk driving led to a woman being critically injured and eventually dying has been spared conviction for involuntary homicide by a prosecution error.
Emerson Vella, 26, had been driving his Volkswagen Golf along Triq Dun Karm, Msida in the early hours of March 9, 2015 when high speed coupled with slippery road conditions caused him to skid.
As his car slipped out of control, it crashed into a parked car belonging to a woman who, at that precise moment, had stopped there to help her son whose own car had broken down.
The woman was hit by the moving vehicle, pushed to the ground and ended up critically injured. Two years later, on April 1, 2017 the victim passed away.
Mr Vella was accused of involuntary murder, reckless and dangerous driving, as well as driving under the influence of alcohol. A breathalyser test shortly after the accident proved that his blood alcohol level had been above the prescribed limit.
A doctor testified that the woman had been critically injured in the collision and had eventually passed away two years later due to those injuries.
However, since the date of death had been specified as “March 9, 2015” – the date of the crash - rather than her actual date of death in April 2017, the first accusation regarding the involuntary homicide “could not subsist”, the court observed.
As for the other charges, the court concluded that there was no doubt that the driver’s failure to keep a “proper lookout” especially since the roads were wet and slippery at the time, had caused the fateful crash.
A traffic expert had reported that the accused had been going at a high speed, although the actual speed was never determined.
Upon the evidence put forward, the court, presided over by magistrate Joseph Mifsud, declared the man guilty of all the other offences, fining him €3,000 and banning him from driving for one year.
He was further ordered to pay €1,754.92 by way of court expert expenses.
Inspector Bernardette Valletta prosecuted. Lawyers Franco Debono and Amadeus Cachia were defence counsel.