Accident victim Yana Xerri, 18.

A drunk driver who smashed his car into a wall and then onto the rocks in Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq, killing his young girlfriend instantly five years ago, was ordered to pay almost €143,000 in compensation to the heirs.

Describing his action as “irresponsible” and “arrogant”, the presiding judge criticised punishment being meted out by the Criminal Court in such incidents, saying they were not serving as a deterrent.

Yana Xerri, 18, was in a car being driven by her boyfriend, Clint Xuereb, when he lost control, crashed into a wall and plummeted the height of a storey to the rocks below.

In January 2013, Mr Xuereb, 26, was fined €6,600 and banned from driving for three years after he was found guilty of causing her death through dangerous driving. The court found that Mr Xuereb was drunk and speeding.

The accident happened on the Coast Road on November 27, 2010 at about 4.30am after the couple had spent a night out in Paceville.

Clint Xuereb is trying to take people for a ride by insisting he is not responsible for the death

Ms Xerri sustained severe head injuries and died on the spot. Mr Xuereb escaped with cuts and bruises even though he was thrown out of the car on impact as he was not wearing a seat belt.

Ms Xerri’s father, Carmel, and her three siblings filed a civil suit for compensation against Mr Xuereb and Elmo Insurance.

Mr Justice Anthony Ellul heard court experts say they had found brake marks measuring 65 metres and that it was “incomprehensible” how Mr Xuereb was insisting he was driving at 70 kilometres an hour.

The judge described the speed at which Mr Xuereb was driving as “wild”.

Although the police believe Ms Xerri was not wearing a seat belt, medical court experts and pathologists who carried out an autopsy on her corpse testified that she had abrasions on her shoulder that were compatible with a seat belt.

“This is another case where a young person lost her life due to someone’s irresponsibility. Inexperience is not an excuse. Life goes on for the person who survives but the other person whose life is robbed would have suffered the consequences due to someone else’s arrogance. The driver was lucky the first time round when he survived the accident and then was lucky again when he was only fined €6,600.

“This is hardly a mitigating factor, so much so that years after the accident Clint Xuereb is trying to take people for a ride by insisting he is not responsible for the death,” Mr Justice Ellul commented in his judgment.

This is another case where a young person lost her life due to someone’s irresponsibility

“Every day, we experience irresponsible driving on Malta’s roads by people who have no clue of what respect for others is all about. Punishment being meted out by the court is evidently not sending a strong enough message and the authorities are failing in the enforcement of traffic rules and regulations,” the judge added. Mr Justice Ellul criticised the arguments made by the defence that Ms Xerri also had to shoulder responsibility for the accident because she had decided to go home with Mr Xuereb even though she knew he was drinking in bars and was under the influence.

In calculating the compensation, Mr Justice Ellul noted that Ms Xerri was working as a waitress at the time of her untimely death. Based on a working life of 37 years, he set the amount at €142,790.