A 19-year-old motorcyclist from Gżira was in critical condition yesterday after being involved in a high-speed collision on Ħal Far Road, a day after three people died in two other traffic accidents.

The other driver in yesterday's collision, a 45-year-old man from Żurrieq who was behind the wheel of an old Ford Escort, was hospitalised suffering from shock and slight injuries.

The motorcyclist's helmet was found almost 40 metres away from where the bike lay in front of the shattered Ford Escort. Parts of his Suzuki 650, which was also extensively damaged, were found scattered all over the area.

A Range Rover was on the road very near to the point of impact in the Ford Escort's lane. The driver, local personality Mario Mifsud - Deejay Banana - a motorsport enthusiast and former policeman, said he managed to give first aid to the young man.

He also directed passers-by to help rescue the older driver, who was caught inside his car.

"All of a sudden I heard a really loud and long braking sound," Deejay Banana said, pointing to the long skid mark on the road and recounting the split-seconds in which the accident happened.

He was on his way to a charity car show at the time.

"I am the safety officer of the Malta Motorsport Federation and I was a policeman for a number of years, so this was not the first time I witnessed such an accident.

"I'm trained not to panic. But my heart was beating more than usual and I had butterflies. I kept calm and did the best I could," he said.

He added that the first thing the motorcyclist said was that his name was Tony.

"He had a cut above his nose and glass in his head. He was also complaining of a pain in his ribs and his leg was severely fractured."

Scores of motorcyclists drove past the dramatic accident scene throughout the morning as police were investigating. Some of them were seen overtaking at high speeds on the same road.

On Saturday night two other traffic accidents resulted in three fatalities: a 54-year-old German woman who was hit by a car while on a zebra crossing and an elderly couple who were involved in a collision with an 18-year-old driver.

Yesterday, there was another traffic accident which saw a 62-year-old crash in Naxxar.

Elderly man succumbs to injuries

The husband of an elderly woman who died on Saturday night after their Chevrolet Matiz was hit by an 18-year-old driver, succumbed to injuries yesterday.

Barry Mitchell was driving the car, while his wife Patricia, 74, was in the passenger seat and died on impact.

The accident happened near the St Paul's Bay bypass when the driver of the other car, a Peugeot 407, lost control of his vehicle, mounted the centre strip and crashed into the Matiz as it was negotiating the Erba Mwieżeb roundabout.

62-year-old hospitalised

A 62-year-old man from San Ġwann was hospitalised but not in a critical condition yesterday after he lost control of his car and crashed in Naxxar.

The man was driving a Honda on his way to Salini and crashed into another car after coming to a bend in the road.

The other car, a Toyota Starlet, was being driven by a 45-year-old from Għargħur who was not hurt.

Woman run over on zebra crossing

The 54-year-old German woman who died after being run over by a car in Għajnsielem was trying to cross the road on a zebra crossing, police sources confirmed yesterday. The car was driven by a 48-year-old man.

The woman, Silvia Kluge, was in Malta visiting her 30-year-old son who lives in Victoria. He was with her but not on the zebra crossing at the time of the accident.

Mosta accident

A woman, 25, of Żebbuġ was injured when she was involved in a traffic accident in Mosta, yesterday evening.

The police said the woman was hit by a bus while she was crossing Constitution Street near Casa Arkati.

Factbox

Traffic deaths so far in 2009: 22
Traffic deaths in 2008: 15