Truck driver fights for his life after Iklin mishap

A 32-year-old man is fighting for his life after he lost control of the Bedford truck he was driving yesterday and drove into Maypole confectionary in Iklin, where four employees, together with a mother and her three children, ran for cover.

Witnesses said the truck driver, who is employed with a bathroom company, was going down the Iklin hill at about 10.45 a.m. but as soon as he hit his brakes to avoid crashing into another car, the front cabin of the truck toppled over with him inside.

Consequently, the truck, which had a lifter attached just behind the driver's cabin, careened into the entrance of the corner store, causing considerable damage to the façade and leaving the Libyan driver fighting for his life.

"We heard someone hooting. Then people from outside started shouting and telling us to run for our lives. I thought it was a simple crash so I ran as far inside as I could. Then I heard an 'explosion' and I saw this massive truck smashing into the shop," employee Maria Falzon, 24, said.

Two female employees, a 20-year-old from Marsa and a 26-year-old from Birkirkara, who were inside the shop at the time were taken to hospital in shock and suffering slight injuries, while the other two escaped unharmed.

The driver was stuck in the vehicle for about 45 minutes as personnel of the Civil Protection Department had to cut through the metal cabin to release him.

Since the shop's façade was damaged the CPD used equipment to prop up the ceiling before the truck could be pulled out.

Neighbours and passers-by stopped to witness the dramatic rescue and many said it was miraculous that there weren't more people in the shop at the time and that no one died. "A cigarette saved my life. If I had not smoked an extra cigarette at the bakery before leaving I would have been making a delivery at that exact moment," Justin Tonna, a 25-year-old deliveryman, said still shaking in shock.

Confectionary owner Carmen Debono said he often feared such an accident would occur because a lot of heavy traffic passed through every day with large trucks gaining momentum down the hill and having to manoeuvre around the roundabout.

cperegin@timesofmalta.com