Robert Attard, the 18-year-old who was grievously injured in a tray gliding incident at Ta'Qali on Sunday, has lost his battle for life.

Sources said his body is being kept on life-support machines for possible organ donation.

He flew off a pallet as he was being pulled by a pick-up truck late at night in Ta’ Qali and suffered serious head injuries when he slammed into a low wall.

The young man alleged to have been driving the vehicle involved in the incident is expected to be taken to court even though the victim would have consented to the stunt, sources said.

Mr Attard had undergone emergency surgery but his condition was always critical.

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

The law does not specify that tray-sliding is against the law and a police source explained to The Times earlier this week that 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. 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.