A court has turned turned down a claim for compensation made by a pillion rider who suffered permanent injuries in a traffic accident which killed the driver of the motorcycle she was riding.

The claim was made by Marouska Cesare against Shaun Bonello, the driver of a Renault which, she claimed, had caused the incident.

Motorcyclist Charlot Spiteri died in the incident, which took place on the coast road on August 7, 2004.

Ms Cesare said that while Mr Spiteri was driving his motorcycle towards Salina, a Renault coming from the opposite direction strayed into their lane as it overtook other vehicles. The Renault hit a Subaru in front of the motorcycle and then hit the motorcycle. Mr Spiteri was killed and she suffered a 16% disability.

Mr Bonello claimed that the incident happened when Mr Spiteri drove onto his lane as he attempted to overtake the Subaru in front of him and hit the Renault.

Ms Cesare's version of events was corroborated by a number of witnesses while Mr Bonello was alone at the time. However, the court said, some details instilled doubts, not least the fact that the driver of the Subaru originally said that his car was hit by a motorcycle, not the Renault. No one site verifications were made.

Furthermore, while the vehicles had ended up in the lane used by the motorcycle, the first piece of debris, a mirror from the motorcycle, was on the other side, on the lane used by the Renault.

The court said that it was therefore not satisfied that the accident happened as claimed by Ms Cesare. Indeed, the court felt that it was the motorcycle driven by Mr Spiteri which, in order to overtake the Subaru, had strayed into the Renault's lane and caused the accident.

It was also relevant that Mr Spiteri had an alcohol level in his blood which was way above the permissible level.

The court therefore turned down Ms Cesare's claims.