The spot where a priest had a fatal car accident on Sunday morning is in dire need of crash barriers, according to people who commute daily through Tal-Barrani Road in Żejtun.
Fr Renè Cilia, 27, of Qormi, died on impact while on his way to say early morning Mass at the Żejtun parish church.
The car he was driving mounted the central strip and careered onto the other side of the road where it collided with two vehicles.
The owner of a field just where the collision occurred said the rubble wall lining the street was full of evidence of previous car crashes.
Just a year ago, in September, a 31-year-old mother-of-four from Birkirkara succumbed to injuries sustained in a traffic accident on the same road.
And according to Transport Malta data for 2007-2009, Tal-Barrani Road is one of Malta’s most dangerous.
“I do not know why a lot of accidents take place on this road but something needs to be done, and we have been saying for years that there is a huge need of crash barriers,” the field owner said, adding he had recently witnessed a slow-moving container truck lose control.
A bus commuter from Żejtun who witnessed the priest’s accident said it all happened in a “split second”. Although she did not see the car mount the central strip, she heard the bus driver saying “he’s going to crash, he’s going to crash”, and Fr Cilia’s car was on the other side in no time.
While flags were still at half mast all over his hometown of Qormi after news of the death spread on Sunday morning, readers rushed to timesofmalta.com suggesting that crash barriers could have softened the blow or even saved his life.
A man from Żejtun who drives through Tal-Barrani for work every day said the installation of traffic lights and resurfacing of the road had made the street safer he still saw accident wreckage every three months or so. Crash barriers, he said, were certainly needed.
Questions sent to Transport Malta about measures it might be taking to improve the road’s safety, and whether it was considering installing crash barriers, remained unanswered.
Fr Cilia’s funeral is being held today at St George’s parish church, Qormi, at 3pm.
Another crash on Tal-Barrani
A 36-year-old woman was injured yesterday evening in yet another traffic accident on the Tal-Barrani Road, Żejtun.
The woman, from Birżebbuġa, was driving a grey Hyundai Getz that was involved in a collision with a blue Volkswagen Golf driven by a 19-year-old man from Luqa.
The accident took place close to the site where Fr Renè Cilia lost his life on Sunday morning.