A man accused of killing two motorcycle riders in a crash in Mosta last year was amnesiac to the accident but discharged himself from hospital against medical advice, a court heard on Wednesday. He however returned later that day complaining of chest pain and in a “very anxious” state.

The details emerged when criminal proceedings resumed against Karl Vella Petroni, who is pleading not guilty to involuntary homicide.

The accident took place in the early morning of May 6 last year when the Smart car which Petroni was driving, crashed head-on into a small motorcycle on Triq iz-Zejfa, Mosta. Two Pakistani men, Faizan Muhammed and Ali Abbas, who were riding that motorbike on their way to work, were killed.

Vella Petroni later tested positive for alcohol, cannabis and cocaine.

Two eyewitnesses, a jogger and a driver, later testified in court that Vella Petroni’s car was being driven at high speed on the wrong lane in the direction from Mġarr to Mosta, before crashing into the motorcycle.

A police officer who was among the first persons to reach the accident site, recalled how he had smelt alcohol on Vella Petroni, who looked tired and had “black eyes.”

When the case resumed on Wednesday, a doctor presented written records from the emergency department at Mater Dei Hospital, where Vella Petroni was admitted after the crash.

A doctor who first examined him noted that he “did not recall events and was completely amnesiac to the accident.”

He was described as a “smoker” with “occasional alcohol use.”

“Nothing alarming” was noted upon medical examination, but further observation was recommended since the patient was suffering from memory loss.

However, contrary to medical advice, Vella Petroni discharged himself, signing the relative form.

Later that same day, he returned to the hospital complaining of chest pain and continued to do so even after being administered painkillers.

In view of that condition and his “very anxious” state, the doctor who examined him that evening around 8pm recommended a psychiatric review and other medical care, including an ESG check at six-hourly intervals.

The scene in May last year where two motorcycle riders died after a head-on crash with a Smart car. (Police photo)

Asked by defence lawyer Charles Mercieca whether those recommendations were normal when a patient presented such symptoms, the doctor replied in the affirmative.

Earlier during Wednesday’s sitting, digital forensic expert Keith Cutajar reported about the geolocation data extracted from the accused’s mobile phone.

On the day of the accident, phone activity started at around 1:30 am and went on until 3am, indicating that the device was in the area of “Mellieha fields.”

The last “ping” was recorded at 3.48am.

Following that, there was no other activity until around 6am, which coincided with the time of the crash.

A lot of activity was recorded at the time, particularly relating to the phone’s camera application, with data indicating that the device was used to take photos and videos.

Asked why no activity was recorded between 3am and 6am, the expert said that there were various plausible reasons. That could be due to the fact that the phone’s battery was low, or because the device was stored in some space where its sensors were not exposed to light.

Or perhaps, the device’s touchscreen was untouched.

The expert believed that there was no interaction between the user and the device.

Geolocation data was recorded when the device connected to satellite antennae. Since there was no intermittent data between 3am and 6am, he could not calculate the phone’s movement speed at the time of the incident, explained the expert.

The case, presided over by Magistrate Marse-Ann Farrugia, continues.

Inspector Godwin Scerri prosecuted.

Lawyers Charles Mercieca and Gianluca Caruana Curran are defence counsel.

Lawyer Matthew Xuereb is appearing parte civile.