Car chase ends in double collision

A car chase through the main roads of Naxxar and Birkirkara ended abruptly in Valley Road when the vehicle being pursued by the police crashed into a route bus and another car.

Sources said Mobile Squad police had thought the driver of a Mazda was acting suspiciously and ordered him to stop.

But instead of the incident ending there, a high-speed chase ensued only to end in a crash which could have had more serious consequences.

The Mazda was first involved in a collision with a route bus coming in the opposite direction and then with an oncoming Fiat Punto being driven by a 60-year-old man from Birkirkara. His 58-year-old passenger, also from Birkirkara, was taken to hospital and treated for slight injuries.

Three men and a girl were in the Mazda. They were handcuffed for some time and at least three of them made to lie face down on the pavement while the police searched the car.

It later transpired that the 21-year-old driver from Santa Venera was driving without a licence. The 16-year-old girl was hospitalised but released soon after.