A 22-year-old driver on Monday admitted to causing the death of his friend in a Swieqi car crash two years ago and was handed a suspended sentence.

Maxime Asacha Muehlematter was driving a rented Renault Zoe in the very early hours of September 24 when he crashed into a wall surrounding a private property in Triq il-Madliena.

His 17-year-old girlfriend was seated next to him in the front passenger seat. Their friends, 21-year-old Ben Laferla and his 20-year-old Chilean girlfriend, sat at the back.

The driver and front passenger suffered slight injuries but their friends fared worse. The female passenger was grievously injured while Laferla suffered critical injuries and died a few days later.  

Initially, Muehlematter's girlfriend told police she was the one driving the car. She later confessed that she had lied to police as she thought that she would not be charged as she was underage. She received a conditional discharge.

Muehlematter was accused of the involuntary homicide of his friend, causing grievous injuries to his Chilean passenger, damaging the car through driving negligently and involuntarily damaging to private property.

He was further charged with negligent and reckless driving as well as driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and breaching traffic regulations.

He initially pleaded not guilty.

During the proceedings, a number of residents and passers-by who witnessed the aftermath of the crash were summoned to testify.

Screams heard from the backseat

A couple and their son who were driving home that night in the company of two English guests, recalled that it was dark and they could hear screaming from the back of the crashed car.

One of the witnesses explained that he knew “Ben” as well as Muehlematter since they sometimes met at a bar years before.

He was the one who pulled Laferla out of the wreckage and administered first aid after sensing the victim was not breathing.

A bottle of Jäegermeister and rum, both three-quarters empty, were found inside the crashed vehicle.

Plea changed to admission

When the case resumed on Monday, the accused changed his plea and registered an admission.

When delivering judgment, Magistrate Leonard Caruana observed that the prosecution had withdrawn three charges relating to reckless and negligent driving as well as driving under the influence.

Those charges were dropped because there was no material evidence that could lead to a conviction.

Another charge concerning the alleged breach of traffic regulations was contraventional and subject to a three-month prescription. The court observed that that charge was time-barred.

Muehlematter was found guilty upon admission of involuntary homicide, involuntarily causing grievous bodily harm to the 20-year-old female passenger, damaging the car and the private property.

When meting out punishment, the court took note of the fact the accused had cooperated with investigators and had a clean police record.

However, such offences could not be taken lightly “especially since driving a vehicle in itself requires a considerable degree of constant attention and even the slightest distraction could have fatal results as is the present case.”

Although the punishment had to reflect “the seriousness and severity” of the case, the court said an effective term of imprisonment was “not advisable given the situation of the accused”.

In light of such considerations, the court condemned the youth to a two-year jail term suspended for four years and banned his driving licence for one year.

The accused was also ordered to pay €5,397 in court expert expenses.

Inspector Jean Paul Attard prosecuted.

Lawyer Stefano Filletti was defence counsel.

Lawyers Mark Mifsud Cutajar and Maria Azzopardi appeared parte civile.