Two men die in Luqa crash

Two men were killed instantly when the car they were in crashed into a roadside tree in Luqa, yesterday evening.

Paul Laus, 52, of Valletta and his passenger, Joseph Cassar, 77, of Marsa, were in a Kia Avella travelling along the inner lane of Council of Europe Street when the accident happened.

A 30-year-old woman from Sta Venera, who was driving on the outer lane, was slightly injured when her Hyundai Excel crashed into the Kia after it hit a tree. She was rushed to hospital suffering from severe shock.

The accident occurred on the two-lane road just beyond the petrol station heading in the direction of the airport. That stretch is rather dangerous because it narrows at this point and barely allows vehicles to overtake.

The two men died on the spot. Sources close to the police said it seemed that neither the driver nor the passenger were wearing seat belts.

At one point a young man arrived on the scene and identified one of the victims, Mr Laus, to be his father. An identity card was also found on the victim.

Both men appeared to have sustained severe head injuries.

Sources said that the older man, Mr Cassar, was a tinsmith and a very familiar sight in Pieta where he used to make weather vanes and metal decorative items on the parapet of a house facing the sea.

The police were headed by Superintendent Stephen Gatt and Inspector Spiridione Zammit. Civil Protection Department director Peter Cordina was also at the scene.

The two lanes leading to Luqa were closed as a result of the crash and the many people who gathered to see what had happened were kept at a safe distance from the accident site.

Magistrate Edwina Grima, who is holding an inquiry, appointed a team of court experts, consisting of mechanical expert Joe Zammit, architect Richard Aquilina and Dr Mario Scerri, to draw up reports as part of the inquiry.