Young man injured in head-on crash

An 18-year-old man yesterday escaped what could have been a fatal accident when he lost control of a black Peugeot, drove over a centre strip and collided head-on into a bus.

The teenager, from St Julians, was driving a Peugeot 307 alone along National Road in Blata l-Bajda in the direction of Valletta, when it was involved in a collision with a Mitsubishi pick-up van and crossed over the centre strip into the opposite carriageway where it collided with a route bus, police sources said.

The bus was not carrying any passengers at the time as the driver, Franco Camillieri, was driving home with his son. None of them suffered any serious injuries.

A woman driver who stopped at the scene said the driver of the Peugeot appeared to have a head injury and was talking to police officers when they arrived on the scene.

The young man, she said, was immediately rushed to hospital.

Police later confirmed that the young driver was not in a critical condition.

The Peugeot suffered extensive damage as the bonnet was crushed.

On the ground, pieces of metal and glass and a trail of soil, leading from the centre strip to the area of the collision, could be seen.

Both airbags were blood-stained.