Driver cleared of injuring young fast bicycle rider

A 25-year-old driver was cleared of seriously injuring a boy after a magistrate concluded that the victim was moving at some speed when he drove his bicycle into the main road in Għadira.

On January 9, 2005, Logan Wood was driving his BMW along Dawret it-Tunnara Street and Terrance Gatt was cycling down a sidestreet which led to a main road.

The court heard that the brakes of the car had not been in proper working order and in fact one had to pump the pedal a few times for the car to come to a complete stop. Mr Wood testified that he had only bought the car a week before the accident and was in fact driving it to the mechanic when the mishap happened.

Thorbjorn Boldsen, who had been standing in his balcony at the time and so had a bird's-eye view of the accident, said he saw the boy cycling down the hill and the accused approaching from the main road. At one point the boy crashed into the car. The boy flew for about a metre and a half and landed on the tarmac. He suffered a broken vertebra, a fractured skull and a bruised brain.

Antonio Borg, a passenger in the car, said the boy was cycling down the hill at quite a speed when he suddenly collided with the car. He noted that Mr Wood had been driving at about 40 kilometres an hour at the time of the impact.

Mr Wood testified that the first time he spotted the boy was about two feet away before impact occurred. However, the court noted there were 42-metre-long brake marks, indicating that the accused had applied the brakes 14 metres before collision.

It was also noted that the boy did not have good brakes on the bike either and that he had cycled onto the main road at some speed.

Magistrate Giovanni Grixti said it was evident that it was the boy that drove onto the road and collided with the car. In fact, had the boy emerged on the road a second earlier the result would have been much worse as he would have ended up under the car, the court noted.

When driving one has to be prepared for anything and, hence, should keep a proper and careful look-out. It did not result that Mr Wood had been driving negligently when the accident happened, the court ruled.

Mr Wood was found guilty of driving without a licence and keeping the vehicle in a bad state of repair and was fined €2,800.