The parents of a young woman who died in a horrific traffic accident a year ago today are still seeking closure on the event that turned their lives upside down.

Josephine and Giuseppe Boni feel “abandoned” by the Maltese authorities and are still in the dark on the tragic circumstances that robbed 27-year-old Johanna from them.

"It’s been a year, and we know no more about the accident than we knew on January 5 last year. We have had to beg for information and we also had to beg for her personal belongings, which we finally got eight months after the accident. We ask, and instead of replies, we get shouted at.

“This is not the way to treat anyone, let alone someone who has lost a daughter,” Ms Boni’s parents told the Times of Malta during a visit to the memorial at the site where the accident took place.

Motorcyclist Johanna Boni was crushed by a cement mixer in Labour Avenue, Naxxar, at about 8am on January 5. The 27-year-old was riding her Kawasaki ER6N to work when the accident happened.

We know no more about the accident than we knew on January 5 last year

The motorbike, which has since been repaired, will be taken to the site this morning for a commemoration the family is planning to mark the first anniversary.

“It feels like anything to do with the accident and my daughter’s death is top secret. Had it been a mass murder or a mafia-style killing, I would have understood that things take time, but is it possible that a year later, the investigation has not yet been concluded?” added Mr Boni, 57.

It was only in August – and after plenty of insistence by their lawyers Michael and Lucio Sciriha – that their daughter’s personal effects were passed on to them.

However, the clothes she was wearing on that fateful day, as well as the brand-new bikers’ boots and gloves remained missing. “They’re saying they threw away the clothes, even though they did not have any bloodstains, but no one knows that happened to the boots and gloves,” Ms Boni said.

Johanna Boni's Samsung S4 went missing from the site of the accident. The parents have appealed for its return, as it contained images, videos and messages that they, as grieving parents, are longing to see. The police gave them the Crocs mobile phone cover and €20 in cash that their daughter had placed between the phone and its cover, but the mobile phone was missing. 

Asked how this year had been for her family, Ms Boni said: “Can you imagine what losing a daughter means? It leaves a void. We miss her daily. My husband lost his job after the accident, as he could not work. I had to keep strong to keep the family going.

Josephine and Giuseppe Boni at their daughter’s roadside memorial in Naxxar yesterday, metres away from where she was killed by a truck. Photo: Steve Zammit Lupi

“But the constant fight for information or for belongings made grieving a lot more difficult for us.”

“I cannot bring my daughter back, but at least I want to create awareness and call for better roads, better road markings – because the state of the road where Johanna died is worse than it was a year ago – traffic lights and cameras, more police presence, more respect for bikers and more respect for relatives of victims of traffic accidents,” she added.

She said the trucks such as that which crushed Johanna “should not be on Malta’s roads”. It was a left-hand-drive cement truck.

“That truck murdered my daughter. Whoever was driving it is a victim, just like our daughter, but that truck is a killer,” Ms Boni said.

Remembrance bike ride

An awareness ride for all bikers and clubs is being held to mark the first anniversary of the death of Johanna Boni and the many fallen bikers of 2016. The ride will take place on Sunday.

The meeting place is Luxol grounds at 9am. The bikers will ride to Naxxar.

Seashells have been collected from Johanna’s favourite seaside in her home town in Sicily and have been personalised to be given to all bikers on the day.