Three new charges filed against man accused of causing cyclist's death
Three new charges have been filed against the man accused with the involuntary homicide of cyclist Cliff Micallef, who died on impact at about 5 a.m. on July 30 after being hit by a car allegedly driven by 21-year-old Anthony Taliana.
Mr Taliana, of Hamrun, is pleading not guilty to involuntary homicide, drink driving, driving a car without insurance cover and relapsing, after having been convicted of dangerous driving a few years ago.
He allegedly hit Mr Micallef 20 metres away from the entrance to the White Rocks Complex in Bahar ic-Caghaq.
In the continuation of the compilation of evidence against Mr Taliana this morning, the prosecution added three charges based on evidence given in court by witnesses.
Mr Taliana is now also being charged with causing serious injuries to Rachelle Dingli Attard on December 1, 2007, when he was involved in a traffic accident while driving a Mazda MX5. He is also charged with dangerous and negligent driving on that day.
The third new charge is for speeding on the day that he allegedly killed Mr Micallef.
Raphael Carabott, the authorised officer responsible for speed cameras, told the court that the Bahar ic-Caghaq speed camera was set up on December 22, 2006 and that on June 12, 2009, nearly a month and a half before the accident, its mechanism was transferred to a St Julian’s camera. The Bahar ic-Caghaq camera was acting as a dummy on the day of the accident.
Court expert Mario Scerri, who was appointed by the court to examine Ms Dingli Attard, who was 17 at the time, confirmed that she was hospitalised on December 1, 2007 and released two days later. She still has visible marks on her face.
The defence lawyers filed an application requesting the revocation of the house arrest bail condition saying that it was useless at this point. They deposited his driving licence.
The court, presided over by Magistrate Audrey Demicoli is waiting for the Attorney General to reply.
The case continues on December 11.
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pat camilleri
Nov 8th 2009, 18:51
Should the police keep guard in Triq San Girgor, they will be shocked to see cars racing down that road. Shocking. Unless someone stops it, there is an accident waiting to happen
A. Mifsud
Nov 8th 2009, 18:15
@sara baldacchino
I beg to differ, but dummy speed cameras are widespread and used all over world. The aim of a speedcamera is to deter potential overspeeding and not simply as a means of milking more taxes from drivers. The highly sophisticated equipment inside these cameras is extremely expensive and it would'nt be feasible to run large numbers of such devices simultaneously. On the otherhand having a mix of both dummy devices and real cameras makes sense; as with drivers not knowing which ones are actually functional, they would still deter overspeeding.
louis zammit
Nov 8th 2009, 11:10
@sara Baldachino
in many countries there are cameras boxes on every crossroad and traffic lights.....and only a few are with a camera...and its a normal habit that they change the cameras in these boxes......so u will never know where the camera is..and one has to respect every camera box....so no its not only malta....Malta shoud take the exampel and do more of theses DUMMY boxes....and there will be less accidents..and less people going over the red lights.....
sara baldacchino
Nov 8th 2009, 08:14
Camera was acting as a dummy on the day of the accident. This is so only in malta!!!!!!!!!!
Kurt Mifsud
Nov 8th 2009, 00:31
@Maria Zammit
Unfortunately what the police do as a "prevention" is stop every single car they see with some modifications. But I call that bad judgement. I have a modified car and I know it's too damn fast for Maltese roads, so I drive carefully and do not push the accelerator far cause as Bernardette Mizzi said it's a weapon. And let's say I get involved in an accident with somebody else and I'm the one who gets killed, I would selfishly ruin the other party's life.
Believe me, there are many people who think like me but unfortunately only those few irresponsible make the hit.
Maria Zammit
Nov 6th 2009, 17:51
What about those do are at present driving recklessly in our streets? Do police officers take any action when such persons are reported to the police? Or is it only when one of these kills someone that action is taken.. far too late don't you think!!!
Bernadette Mizzi
Nov 6th 2009, 15:50
There you are wardens thats where your fines should go not to some poor old chap who couldn't really find a place to park etc etc...does anyone realise driving a car is just like having a weapon not only as means of transport??driving kills..... and if I may add to ALL careless pedestrians>>>>carefull how you to cross the road or stop the habit of talking on a zebra line crossing...stop looking at your precious moblie watch the road....Carlessness from both ends can kill we must learn how to be aware,and mothers with babies for goodness sake why put the pram or puschair first before you cross....any idea how to teach pedestrians ?? common sense is not so common after all..
c. camilleri
Nov 6th 2009, 15:47
It is about time that death caused by negligent driving be treated as murder. Other countries such as the UK are contemplating such a move.
Eric Gahn
Nov 6th 2009, 15:30
@ Tonio Bone
The problem is not this kid as he is currently off the road. The problem are the other cowboys who so far were never caught or to date never got involved in anything serious. I have a gut feeling that statistics would show that most such offenders are under 25yrs old. Are there any checks in place to control these people?
Dr Francis Saliba
Nov 6th 2009, 15:27
Depositing this youth's driving licence would not be much of a reassurance in view of the track record of redurrent serious traffic offences already proven and the long list he has to answer for now!
Kenneth Cocks
Nov 6th 2009, 14:53
Seeing the seriousness of the charges, the accused should be held in preventative custody until the trial is over.
Tonio Bone
Nov 6th 2009, 14:05
Nobody is asking for a public lynching and nothing will bring Cliff back to his family and friends, but this kid, if guilty, needs to carry the responsibility of his actions, injuring a 17 year old girl and killing a father of three just for the rush of driving fast is unacceptable!
G. Attard
Nov 6th 2009, 14:02
I hope that Mr. Taliana gets the punishment he deserves. I cannot begin to think how painful it is to lose a loved one to such terrible circumstances. I pray that Mr. Micallef's family and Ms. Dingli can find some closure and our justice system does not fail us.