A driver who hit a man crossing the road during a feast in Zurrieq on the night of July 21, 2007 has been ordered to pay €45,571 in compensation.

Carmen Abela was found to be 75 per cent responsible for the incident in which she hit Sylvester Tabone while he was crossing Blue Grotto Avenue. Despite a broken windscreen and damage to the front part of her Getz car, she continued driving to her home in Iklin. She said she was scared of stopping because of the people in the area at the time.

The court found that the driver had been speeding, but Tabone was still responsible for 25 per cent of the incident for crossing the road without keeping a proper lookout, emerging from between parked cars.

He suffered permanent injuries, to the extent that he could no longer work as a labourer and is now a security guard, with a lower pay.