Young driver critical

A young woman is in a critical condition after she was involved in a traffic accident on Regional Road early yesterday morning.

A 21-year-old Attard man who was a passenger in the car escaped with slight injuries and was sent home after being treated in hospital, the police said.

Preliminary investigations showed that the accident occurred at 5.15 a.m. when the Lija woman was driving a red Peugeot 306 in the direction of Msida. When she was driving uphill along the slip road towards the university roundabout, she lost control of the car and it fell onto the road below, landing upside down in front of the tunnel's entrance.

The two young people were rushed to hospital where the woman was found to be suffering from head injuries and was in a critical condition. Her passenger was treated for slight injuries.

Sources said the gravity of the young woman's condition was only confirmed to the police at about 10.30 a.m., more than five hours after the accident occurred. This meant that the magisterial inquiry was only called at that time.

A source told The Times that despite both personal and telephonic contacts by the police with hospital staff, the latter did not declare the young woman's condition and, as a result, the road remained closed until 12.15 p.m. when the inquiry was completed.

The source explained that an inquiry takes place when a person dies or is in a critical condition.

Duty Magistrate Silvio Meli was informed of the case and appointed court experts to help him in the inquiry.

The Msida district police are investigating.