The heirs of a teenager who was run over and killed while crossing the Mrieħel Bypass were yesterday awarded nearly €240,000 in damages more than nine years after her untimely death.
David and Marlene Housley, and their sons Craig and Darrell, filed their action against Ivan Cutajar, the driver who was 23 when he ran over 17-year-old Emma Housley and her 13-year-old friend Graziella Fenech on August 21, 2005.
Mr Cutajar had been found guilty of causing the girls’ deaths in 2009 but was given a two-year suspended jail term, causing uproar.
Emma’s relatives argued that Mr Cutajar was wholly responsible for the death as he had been driving at excessive speed and should therefore be made to pay compensation.
However, he defended himself on the grounds that the teenager was responsible for the accident as she crossed an arterial road at a dangerous spot, without taking precautions.
Mr Cutajar told the court that he had been driving at a speed of between 60 and 70 kilometres per hour and that he had not seen the girls crossing because it was dark.
Mr Justice Anthony Ellul dismissed these claims, pointing out that photographs of the scene showed clearly that the road lights were functioning, and that the area was well lit.
Mr Cutajar had no right to assume that this was a road that was not crossed by pedestrians, especially seeing as there was a pavement along the road and it was near to a residential zone.
More importantly, the court dismissed the claim that he had been driving at the speed he indicated as he had left break marks 102 metres long.
Mr Cutajar had been driving at a speed that did not afford him full control of the vehicle.
Mr Justice Ellul said he took into consideration Emma’s age at the time of the accident and estimated that her average earnings, over the normal course of a lifetime, would be in the sum of €15,000 per year.
Mr Justice Ellul found Mr Cutajar totally responsible for the accident and ordered him to pay the Housley family €237,431.25 in damages.
The accident had ignited a long debate over the safety of the area. The bypass had cut off the residents living on the Mrieħel side from Qormi, which had most of the amenities.
There was no convenient way to cross from one side to the other so many people opted to traverse the wide thoroughfare despite the risks.
The government has pledged to build a footbridge across the bypass and obtained planning authority permission last April. However, work has not yet started.