A man was hospitalised and his brother treated briefly following a road accident involving Justice Minister Owen Bonnici on Thursday.

Dr Bonnici was driving his private car at around 9pm when he crashed into a car that was stranded on the road leading to Marsa from the Santa Venera tunnels.

The crash pushed the vehicle on to another car in front, which ended up injuring two men that were at the end of the pile-up.

One of the men suffered a broken knee but was released from hospital while his brother was injured slightly.

The man was there to help his brother, whose car had broken down, and he parked his own vehicle in front of it.

It was pitch dark, I had seconds to react and I didn’t have the option to veer to the right

Dr Bonnici confirmed the incident. “I had just come out of the Santa Venera tunnels and took the road to Marsa when I found the stationary car in front of me, just as I was rounding the bend.

“It was pitch dark and I had seconds to react. I did not have the option to veer to the right as there was a car.

“I was shocked when I saw that one of the men was on the floor but fortunately, he is out of hospital now. I’m in touch with the family to sort out the matter.”

Asked why he did not immediately issue a statement about the incident, Dr Bonnici said his primary concern was for the injured man.

“I felt this was an unfortunate incident and was told by one of the brothers that they were not keen on press attention when I pointed out that the matter might be reported on, given that I am a public figure.”

One of the men, who wished to remain anonymous, confirmed his brother had been injured and that he had been released.

He was reluctant to comment further but said that the matter was being dealt with civilly.

The ministry’s statement came last night, saying Dr Bonnici would be following the normal process pursued by the police and would face a traffic sitting, as every other citizen would.