A sports car enthusiast originally sentenced to prison time for a massive car crash in 2005 has been spared jail.
Massimon Abela, 46 and from Mqabba, had matured significantly in the 12 years since the crash happened and the crash victim had also recovered well in the ensuing years, Madam Justice Edwina Grima noted as she converted a one-year jail sentence to a one-year term suspended for two years.
Mr Abela had been driving his newly purchased Mitsubishi Lancer along the Coast Road towards Buġibba shortly after midnight in September 2005 when he lost control of the car, crashing into two vehicles heading in the opposite direction.
Just as Mr Abela manouvred the Magħtab bend in the road, the Mitsubishi brushed the pavement and skidded out of control. It smashed into an Opel Corsa which disappeared from view, and then collided sideways into a Mercedes Benz which had braked suddenly.
The Opel Corsa was completely wrecked on the rocky beach below, with its young driver suffering grievous injuries which shattered his dreams of becoming a dancer.
Mr Abela was subsequently prosecuted over the accident which resulted in grievous injuries to the Opel driver, slight injuries to Mr Abela's girlfriend who was a passenger in his car, as well as damages to two third party vehicles.
The road was dry at the time of the crash and Mr Abela's wreckless driving had been the sole cause of the crash, the Magistrate's court had established.
An orthopaedic specialist had declared the victim “lucky to be alive and walking unaided.”
Stressing that punishment was intended to teach the accused a lesson and serve as a deterrent for society at large, the Magistrates’ court had handed down a one-year effective jail term and a two-year driving ban.
On appeal, Madam Justice Edwina Grima rejected the appellant’s arguments that the accident had never been conclusively established and that the punishment had been “disproportionate and exaggerated.”
While confirming the appellant’s guilt, the court noted that the victim had been compensated and had almost recovered fully in the twelve-year lapse since the accident.
“The court cannot ignore the passage of time from when this incident occurred in September 2005…the appellant has today matured in his behaviour and recognised his error,” Madam Justice Grima observed, varying the punishment from a one-year effective jail term to a one-year term suspended for 2 years.
Lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri were defence counsel to the appellant.