A hot dog vendor appeared in court in a bloodstained tracksuit yesterday and denied crashing into four cars while drunk within the space of a couple of hours.

He stank of alcohol

Three people were taken to hospital after the accident spree in Ħamrun on Tuesday afternoon in which he too sustained facial injuries, the court heard.

Philip Attard, 46, from Fgura, appeared before Magistrate Giovanni Grixti pleading not guilty to 22 charges brought against him.

Police Inspector Robert Vella told the court that Mr Attard, driving a Honda Civic, was involved in three hit-and-run accidents. He was then arrested after a fourth crash in which the three people were injured.

The inspector said Mr Attard had a history of negligent and dangerous driving, with a number of convictions listed in his criminal record.

He allegedly first crashed into a Renault Magane in St Cajetan Street at about 4.30 p.m., after which he proceeded to Qormi Road and slammed into a Suzuki Swift.

As he was driving through St Joseph High Road, he collided with an Arriva bus and then, just under two hours later, crashed into a Hyundai Accent, also in Ħamrun.

In the last accident Gerald Agius sustained serious injuries and two passengers in another car, Emanuela Nagiah and Catherina Micallef, were slightly hurt when the Hyundai crashed into their car after the first impact.

Mr Attard received facial injuries in the last crash but refused to be taken to hospital for treatment, the inspector said. He later accepted to be treated at a health centre where sutures were applied to his nose.

At the Ħamrun police station, Mr Attard refused to take a breathalyser test “although he stank of alcohol”, and later allegedly insulted and attempted to assault a police sergeant.

He was also charged with breaching the peace, offending public morals, swearing and being drunk, apart from driving under the influence of alcohol. He was further charged with relapsing.

Defence counsel Arthur Azzopardi requested bail for his client and suggested an immediate suspension of his driving licence as a condition for granting bail.

However, Magistrate Giovanni Grixti said the accused could not be trusted and therefore denied the request.