An octogenarian was this morning cleared of seriously injuring an elderly woman who crossed negligently on a pelican crossing in March 2012.  

The court ruled that the woman, Pauline Vassallo, crossed George Borg Olivier Street in St Julians without waiting for the lights to turn to red. 

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera said the court "had no doubt" that the victim's carelessness had caused the traffic accident and that it had happened through no fault of 83-year-old Antonio Farrugia. 

Ms Vassallo, 80, was crossing the street at 10.15am on March 26 when she was hit by a Toyota Ractis driven by Mr Farrugia. The victim was critically injured, due to head injuries he suffered, and spent two days unconscious at the Mater Dei Intensive Therapy Unit. 

Mr Farrugia told the court that he had been driving towards Sliema when he saw the victim and two other pedestrians waiting to cross. 

He said the lights were green so he continued to drive, but all of a sudden Ms Vassallo began to cross. He braked and tried to avoid hitting Ms Vassallo but it was in vain and he hit the elderly woman with the side of his car. 

The woman lost consciousness when she banged her head on the car's side mirror. The other two pedestrians, Alan and Carmen Borg, told the court the lights had not changed to red when Ms Vassallo decided to cross the road. 

In her testimony, the victim told the magistrate that she was unsure as to whether there was a zebra crossing or traffic lights. She also said that she was unsure as to when the incident occurred and whether she had pressed the button for the traffic lights to change to red.

Court expert Mario Buttigieg concluded that the victim was at fault because she had crossed the street carelessly. 

In view of this expert advice and the testimonies of eye witnesses, Magistrate Scerri Herrera cleared the man of the charges brought against him. 

Police Inspector Luke Bonello prosecuted.