A man whose wife was run over by a bus has filed a police report claiming that witnesses in the case against the driver misled the court.

In the report, filed at the Valletta police station on Thursday, Publius Said insisted that these testimonies resulted in the court ruling that his wife caused the accident by running into the road without keeping a proper lookout.

A month ago, bus driver Massimo Bonello, 40, was cleared of driving negligently and dangerously and seriously injuring Mr Said’s Ukrainian wife, Inna, in St Paul’s Bay on December 2, 2008. He was fined €150 for driving without a licence since he had not renewed it.

On the day of the accident, Mr Bonello was driving public bus route number 49 in St Paul’s Bay.

Ms Said, who was not yet married at the time, was crossing the road at about 8.30am to get to the bus stop when she was hit.

She suffered head injuries and spent over 17 days in hospital and even suffered from epilepsy, now under control, as a result of injuries sustained to her brain.

Magistrate Audrey Demicoli heard Mr Bonello say he was driving at a normal speed and the woman had just crossed without using the nearby zebra crossing. Other witnesses, who were on the bus at the time, gave the same version.

He claimed that one of the witnesses had lied

Mr Bonello also told the court that after the accident Mr Said offered him money if he assumed the blame.

Soon after Mr Bonello’s testimony last April, Mr Said went to the police station and accused Mr Bonello of lying under oath and defaming him as he denied ever trying to bribe him.

He also claimed that one of the witnesses had lied on grounds that during the inquiry she said she was on the bus stop and saw his wife being thrown on to the pavement. However, when she testified in court, the same witness said she was on the bus.

On Thursday, Mr Said returned to the police station to add to his report. He said a court expert, who had taken his wife’s statement after the accident, had not done his job properly. He had taken the statement at a time when his wife was suffering from amnesia.

He also claimed that other witnesses had given different versions of the event in court, compared to the statement they released soon after the accident.

A spokesman for the police confirmed that Mr Said filed the report, a copy of which was seen by Times of Malta.

“A police report has been filed and the case shall be investigated accordingly… the judgment handed down by the magistrate is final and definitive,” the police said.