TM suspends permits of contractor responsible for skip involved in fatal crash
Contractor 'illegally' resumed works without informing the agency
Transport Malta has suspended future permits for the contractor responsible for a skip left on the St Paul’s Bay bypass that was hit by a motorcyclist in a fatal accident last week.
In a statement on Monday evening, TM said it had “suspended any future permits for this contractor until all safety standards are assured,” while confirming the contractor had “illegally” resumed works last week without a valid permit or informing the agency.
“These works had been stopped for months, and any resumption without proper authorisation is entirely the responsibility of the contractor,” it said.
Dieter Vink, 54, was riding a Honda motorcycle on Wednesday evening when he smashed into the stationery garbage skip placed on the bypass' final curve leading to the Xemxija roundabout.
The collision left Vink in a critical condition and he was taken to Mater Dei Hospital for treatment, there succumbing to his injuries on Friday night.
Footage of the incident generated an outpouring of grief and anger, with many calling for accountability over what they claimed as negligence on the part of the contractor.
Times of Malta has been informed by multiple sources that the contractor in question is JV Infrastructure. Repeated attempts to contact the company were unsuccessful.
Vink’s family have said they “want justice, and we will not let him pass in vain,” and have demanded accountability for the events that led to the popular hairdresser’s death.
Speaking to Times of Malta less than 24 hours after his death, the family said Vink had suffered catastrophic brain trauma in the accident, with other injuries including a broken right arm, several fractured ribs, a punctured liver and spleen, two black eyes and cuts and bruises all over his body.
Fleur Marie Cilia Buckett said the crash helmet the motorcyclist was wearing at the time of the crash looked like “corn flakes,” while stressing Vink was a careful rider.
“That could have easily been any of us,” she said.
The skip left on the road earlier that day is believed to have been placed there while JV Infrastructure was carrying out works on a boundary wall in the area.
St Paul's Bay mayor Censu Galea said the skip had also been placed on the road a few months before the fatal incident and that residents nearby had complained at the time about it being a danger.