A father accused of having caused grievous bodily harm to his own wife and son in a 2014 traffic accident was today acquitted by a court of law. 

Carmel Micallef, 52, was driving his van down Saqqajja Hill, Rabat on a rainy December afternoon when he swerved suddenly to avoid a traffic jam, the court was told.

The court, presided by magistrate Caroline Farrugia Frendo, heard how Mr Micallef, with his wife and son in the passenger seats, was driving at around 25km/h when he suddenly came upon a line of stationary vehicles.

As the accused turned the steering wheel sharply to avoid the traffic in front of him, his van crossed to the other side of the road right in the path of an oncoming bus heading up Saqqajja Hill, the court was told.

The court noted that the only eyewitnesses of the collision were Mr Micallef's wife and son and the bus driver, since the passengers on the bus did not see anything but only felt the impact.

The bus driver had testified that when he saw the accused's van careering towards him, he was driving at 35km/hr and had swerved to the left but was unable to avoid impact.

Both the bus driver as well as the court-appointed expert had testified that at the time of the accident road visibility was poor due to the rainy weather.

The court acquitted the accused who, owing to the poor road vision could not take preemptive action to avoid the unfortunate incident. The man was also acquitted of having caused slight injuries to the bus driver involved in the same collision.

Inspector Pier Guido Saliba prosecuted. Lawyer Arthur Azzopardi was defence counsel.