A 19-year-old from Mosta this afternoon denied seriously injuring an elderly pedestrian who he hit with his motorised bike as he was crossing the road.

Inspector Pricilla Caruana told Magistrate Antonio Vella that Ezekiel Xuereb ran over Oscar Attard while he was crossing Fleur-de-Lys Road on July 10, 2013. She claimed that Mr Xuereb ran a red light and was on a motorised bicycle which had not been registered with Transport Malta.

He also stands charged with driving the bike in a negligent manner and without keeping a proper lookout for pedestrians.

A pedestrian who was crossing the road at the same time, Robert Gauci, said that on the day in question he had waited for the traffic lights to turn red (to oncoming traffic) and while he was crossing, he heard a loud noise and suddenly saw Mr Attard on the ground with a serious head injury.

He said Mr Attard was not crossing from the zebra crossing but was between two and three metres away.

Inspector Caruana said the front wheel of the bike was bent with the impact. She said Mr Attard was seriously injured and was, for some time, in critical condition because of the serious head injury he had sustained.

She said that Mr Xuereb told the police that the lights were still amber when he passed and that he had not yet registered the bike as he had just bought it.

Defence lawyers Michael and Lucio Sciriha argued that the motorised bicycles were not regulated at the time of the incident and it is only afterwards that regulations were drawn up.

The case continues next month.

See also - http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130716/local/petition-demands-regulation-of-motorised-bicycles.478210

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