‘Whether he was dead or not, I still ran over a man’

Fate was not on a taxi driver’s side when he had to pass through Paceville Avenue for the second time in five minutes on Friday morning and unknowingly drove over a man who was sprawled in the road.

I felt as if I had driven over a speed bump; then somebody screamed

Robert Aquilina, 35, told The Sunday Times he kept rewinding that dreadful scene in his head when he opened the door of his taxi and saw two legs protruding from beneath the car.

“I panicked and started shouting to those around me to lift the BMW – but it was impossible,” he said.

He stammered as he recalled how he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he drove over Mario Galea at around 3.40 a.m.

Investigators believe Mr Galea, 47, died before Mr Aquilina drove over his motionless body, but an autopsy scheduled for yesterday has been postponed to Tuesday until further forensic tests are carried out on the man’s injuries.

CCTV footage zooming in on Paceville Avenue, a road that links motorists to the island’s hub of entertainment, shows Mr Galea being kicked and punched as he lay slumped on the road.

Police last night charged two 28-year-olds – Chef Brian Cini, from Victoria, and Joseph Zahra, from St Julian’s who has just folded his business – with Mr Galea’s murder.

Police sources said investigators were trying to establish if the row was drug-related.

When officers swooped down on the victim’s rented Sliema apartment they found three heroin addicts.

Mr Galea’s family are also in the dark as to what could have sparked the argument.

Asked if the fight could have been over drugs, his sister Carmen Galea said: “No, no... I don’t know, police haven’t told us anything. We have no idea.”

“My brother died a gruesome death, which no human being deserves. I hope justice is done...,” Ms Galea said, choking back the tears for her youngest sibling.

Mr Aquilina’s heart went out to Mr Galea’s family. “I saw his family at the police station. What do you tell them? I didn’t see the man on the road; it’s a tragic situation.”

The police’s theory that Mr Galea could have been dead before the taxi went over him is of little solace to Mr Aquilina, who is still trying to overcome the shock.

“Whether he was dead or not I still ran over a man. I’d feel for a cat if I’d hit it, let alone a human being – it’s very traumatic,” he said, lamenting his bad luck.

At about 3.30 a.m. Mr Aquilina had to pick up an Italian man from The George Hotel, located on Paceville Avenue.

Just as he drove off the Italian realised he had forgotten his keys and Mr Aquilina had to turn back, driving past The Hilton to reach Paceville Avenue.

“I was focused on the oncoming cars, while at the same time trying to establish if the agitated youngsters on the pavement were about to cross, so I was extra careful,” he said.

“In that split second everything happened. I turned in and suddenly I felt as if I had driven over a speed bump; then somebody let out a loud scream.

“The car was stationary and that’s when I opened the door and saw legs sticking out.

“I had no idea what happened. I thought maybe I ran over a drunkard. I hadn’t seen anybody on the road.”

The rest is a blur, but he remembers one of the youngsters, a witness in the case, trying to reassure him that the man was probably already dead because he had been badly beaten in a fight.

“It really is your predetermined future. I landed in the wrong spot; the man can’t have been on the road long because I had just passed by, maybe five minutes earlier,” he said.

While he waited for police and the civil protection officers to raise his taxi, Mr Aquilina paced up and down, smoking an entire packet of Rothmans cigarettes.

A taxi driver for the past 16 years – a trade passed on from his father – Mr Aquilina battled with the demons in his head to get back behind the wheel hours after the incident to drive his car to the police depot.

“I was shaking with the shock and the wheels of the car were barely turning, but I had to challenge myself and do it,” he said.

Mr Aquilina, who is very popular among the taxi congregation and known to be a good man, has been comforted by the kind words and phone calls of support. But the only people who can help him relax and overcome the shock are his two children.

“Time needs to pass for me to get over this, but my kids are helping me put life in perspective.”