A young man alleged to have been driving the vehicle involved in Sunday’s “tray-sliding” accident, in which another youth was critically injured, is likely to be charged, police sources told The Times.

Robert Attard, 18, flew off a pallet as he was being pulled by a pick-up truck late at night in Ta’ Qali and sustained serious head injuries when he slammed into a wall.

The driver will probably be charged in court even though the victim would have consented to the stunt, the sources said, adding that investigations were still underway. Medical sources said Mr Attard showed some recovery yesterday after he underwent surgery and was said to be breathing alone. His condition, however, remained critical.

“Tray-sliding” involves sitting or standing on a tray, or in this case a pallet, and being pulled along by a vehicle.

The stunt is not new to Malta, as several clips on the video sharing website YouTube prove. However, some of them were removed from the site yesterday. The law does not specify that tray-sliding is against the law and a police source explained they were venturing into a new area in this regard, especially in light of the fact that many officers have never come across it.

The driver, however, may still face charges of reckless driving, besides others. It was specified that he was not under the influence of alcohol.

Another five people were present at the time of the incident, The Times has learnt. Some four other friends were standing about 30 metres away and there was a passenger in the truck.

However, investigators have not yet established exactly why Mr Attard “flew off” the pallet.

The incident happened in the Ta’ Qali car park opposite the motocross track. There are plenty of track-marks on the ground, made by car enthusiasts who try out their tricks before performances. This was making it hard to tell apart the ones that could have been made by the pick-up truck, a police source said.