A sports car enthusiast who lost control of his friend’s Toyota Supra and crashed the sportscar into a parked trailer has been ordered by a court to pay €87,000 in damages to the owner, who suffered psychological trauma.
The 24-year-old driver was sued by the car's owner and his parents as owners of the car, over the incident that took place on April 30, 2017 at Hal Far.
The car owner told the court he had allowed his friend to take the wheel of his prized possession on condition that he drove very carefully while he accompanied him as passenger.
All went well until he decided to get out of his car, trusting his friend to proceed alone for a while.
He recalled how the minute he stepped out of his car, he heard the engine revving and watched as his ‘dream car’ sped off, then swerved and crashed into a parked trailer.
The car was extensively damaged while the driver suffered serious injuries. He later explained that he had literally lost control of the car and ended up under the trailer.
A number of other people at the scene of the incident later confirmed that there were no brake or skid marks linked to the crash.
The driver said that it was the owner himself who had urged him to drive the car while he admired it from a distance. Moreover, modifications had not made it safe to drive, he argued. He also said that the owner had sought psychiatric help before the accident.
But the court, presided over by Mr Justice Lawrence Mintoff, rejected that argument which was contradicted by the findings of technical experts who had pronounced the vehicle to be in “a very good state” before the crash.
It had also been VRT approved just one month prior to the incident.
Besides, eyewitnesses had heard the owner warn his friend not to drive the car on “second turbo” and confirmed that that the driver's driving had changed when left alone behind the steering wheel.
During the proceedings, the owner's parents, testified how their son had worked hard for years to acquire his “dream car” which he finally managed to buy from Japan in 2016.
They had agreed to register the vehicle in their name but confirmed that the car belonged to their son who had been negatively affected by the whole episode.
His initial shock had given way to other emotional disturbances that changed the young man, affecting his work and social habits. His suffering was partly attributed to the fact of seeing his friend carry on with life “without showing any remorse,” a psychiatrist later testified, confirming moderate post-traumatic stress disorder and a 20% permanent debility.
The Toyota Supra, worth some €35,000, was reduced to a ‘wreck value’ of €7,000, technical experts told the court.
In light of all evidence, the court concluded that the accident had been caused through negligence by the driver who was held liable in damages and ordered to pay €62,574.98 to the owner and a further €24,400 to his parents for expenses incurred by them.
Lawyers Keith Borg and Graziella Cricchiola assisted the applicants.