The family of a jogger who was killed in a road accident five years ago have welcomed a “harsher” punishment for the driver, handed down on appeal, but admitted they could not yet forgive him.

Flanked by her brother Darren Formosa and her mother Nikolina, Alison Sant’ Angelo spoke about her father Emmanuel – the “great man” they lost in an accident that wrecked their lives – and the pain they face every day.

Mr Formosa, a 59-year-old family man and fitness fanatic, died in January 2008 while on his regular jog in Mosta when Kevin Ellul, 29, sent him flying over a rubble wall. The driver was on the wrong side of Durumblat Road and hit Mr Formosa from behind.

In 2010, a magistrate gave Mr Ellul a three-year jail sentence suspended for three and suspended his driving licence for a year. The magistrate took into account the fact that the victim was wearing black.

However, on Tuesday, after an appeal filed by both the Attorney General and Mr Ellul, Mr Justice David Scicluna converted the sentence to two years in prison, suspended for four, and added a two-year supervision order.

Mr Ellul was not found guilty of drink driving and both courts said there could have been a number of factors that led to him driving on the other side of the road.

Mr Justice Scicluna noted that, even though he went late to the police, Mr Ellul did go and cooperated with the authorities. He had a clean police record and was a first-time offender so he “saw no reason” to change the type of punishment.

“It’s a bit better – it’s a bit harsher,” Ms Sant’ Angelo said of the new sentence. “We felt the first one was too light for what had happened and for what we lost. My father was a very special man.”

However, they all admitted that nothing would ever be enough as “he will never come back”.

There “are no words – there is nothing I can say. I wish I can bring him over but no one ever comes back,” Ms Formosa said.

In a joint appeal, the family said they wanted a lesson to come out of this tragedy. Drivers had to be responsible and keep in mind that a driving licence was not carte blanche to do as one pleased.

“Accidents happen and you must do your part and take responsibility,” Ms Sant’ Angelo said. “We want people to be responsible – just get a taxi, just go with your friends but don’t get behind the wheel and drive if you’ve been drinking.”

While nothing would ever give the family “closure”, at least the new sentence “doesn’t rub salt in the wound”. The first punishment was not “respectful” and caused a lot of “anger and pain,” Mr Formosa said.

A dedicated father and husband, he described his father as sensitive and loving...respected by all.

“I lost my idol, my dad, my best mate and half of my world. Sometimes I go home and find my mother in tears – crying after five years because she is feeling lonely.”

The family said they could not forgive Mr Ellul. “It’s hard when you lose someone so precious. My father was not in the wrong. The worst was that he didn’t shoulder responsibility and tried to put the blame on daddy,” she said.

Quietly wiping away tears, Mrs Formosa said she had lost half her life. “It is a space that will never be filled. I wonder whether he sleeps at night, knowing that he took a life.”

Ms Sant’ Angelo insisted they did not want Mr Ellul locked away forever. “Accidents happen – we understand that – but we wanted him to take responsibility”.

The fact that he filed an appeal clearly “showed that he didn’t care...it’s a shame,” her mother said.

Mr Formosa agreed and said his father was “very unlucky and at the wrong place at the wrong time”.

Once the interview was over, Mrs Formosa watched her son play with his nephew, who was named after the grandfather he never met, and smiled. “My grandson fills up a bit the empty space left inside me.”