A bus driver who had crashed into an electricity pole and onto the outer façade of the Attard cemetery was cleared of dangerous driving on Friday on account that the accident could have been due to faulty mechanics.

Jesmond Sghendo, the 48-year old driver from Msida, had been at the wheel of an older model of an Arriva bus early on August 1, 2012, when the accident took place.

As the driver manoeuvred the bend close to the cemetery, the vehicle crashed headlong, hitting an electricity pole and a crash barrier before hitting the outer wall of the cemetery, causing structural damages amounting to some €3,099.

One of the two passengers seated on board the bus at the time of the accident, a woman who was traveling back from work, knocked her forehead and required sutures.

The driver was prosecuted over the involuntary damages caused through his negligent and reckless driving through which one of his passengers was slightly injured.

In the course of the proceedings, the driver had testified as to how he had been heading towards Valletta when, before taking the bend next to the speed camera in Attard, he had tried with difficulty to turn the steering wheel moments before the crash.

The woman injured in the accident had also testified that she had been seated at the front of the bus when suddenly she heard “a big noise, the bus hit the pavement and we crashed”.

The victim could not recall any further details of the accident.

The court, presided over by magistrate Josette Demicoli, delved into case law on criminal liability and concluded, on the basis of all evidence put forward, that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.

In the absence of a mechanical examination of the bus, the existence of a mechanical fault, which might have sparked off the incident, could not be ruled out, the court observed.

Moreover, the victim’s testimony corroborated the version supplied by the accused ultimately clearing the driver of all criminal charges.

Lawyer Charlon Gouder was defence counsel.