A truck driver was given a two-year jail term suspended for four years on Wednesday for having involuntarily caused the death of a workmate while manoeuvering a truck in a narrow street.
In a separate ruling, a magistrate also found there was enough prima facie evidence for police to investigate the role that the employer played in the tragedy.
Davide Manunta was found guilty by Magistrate Leonard Caruana for causing the death of 71-year-old Karmnu Micallef.
Micallef was accompanying Manunta, on February 3, 2022, when he stepped out of the large Leyland DAF vehicle to give the driver directions as he attempted to turn around the truck on a narrow road. The two workers had been transporting rebar to a construction site in the area.
The incident took place on Triq Wied il-Qoton, Birżebbuġa, with experts later reporting to the inquiring magistrate that that stretch of road was too narrow for such a bulky truck to be manoeuvred around.
Micallef was hit, dragged and run over several times with the truck’s left wheel before the driver realised what had happened.
The magisterial inquiry had concluded that Manunta should be charged with involuntary homicide but did not mention the company he worked for - GP Borg Limited.
Micallef's family filed a legal challenge asking the police commissioner to take action against the company. When this did not happen, they took the matter to court.
On Tuesday Magistrate Nadine Lia noted that the police had not looked into the involvement of the company but relied on the conclusions of the magisterial inquiry.
“The court disagrees with the Police Commissioner because it was up to the Police Commissioner to carry out a separate investigation based on the legal complaint and determine whether there was prima facie evidence to issue charges against the company…. This is a mistake that keeps being repeated”, she said as she went on to uphold the family’s request and ruled that there was enough prima facie evidence to investigate the company over the matter.
She ordered that a copy of the ruling be passed on to the police and the Attorney General. Lawyer Franco Galea represented the family while the prosecution was led by Darryl Farr. Lawyers Franco Debono and Matthew Xuereb represented the accused.