Maritime engineering student Nolan Farrugia, 21, who died on Thursday when his motorcycle was involved in a collision with a truck, was a “happy and cheerful” young man, active in the Siġġiewi parish.

The fatality occurred at about 10am on Qormi Road, Luqa. Mr Farrugia, who was riding a Kymco Agility motorcycle, died on site.

The police said the truck was driven by a 56-year-old man from Għaxaq.

As news of the accident started making the rounds on online news portals and the social media, those who knew the victim rushed to Facebook to express their condolences, many describing him as a “happy and cheerful” young man.

Nolan FarrugiaNolan Farrugia

“The loss of a friend, a cheerful young man. I will always cherish the moments we spent with the Siġġiewi altar boys and youths’ groups,” Tarxien parish priest Fr Chris Ellul, who served as vice-parish priest of St Nicholas parish until earlier this year, said.

Vecchia Napoli trattoria and pizzeria at Skyparks in Luqa, where the victim worked as a part-time waiter, closed its doors in mourning. Kitchen Concepts managing director Julian Sammut told the Times of Malta when contacted it was “the most natural thing to do”.

He never stopped putting a smile on others’ faces

“He was here yesterday. Such a lovely guy. We’re all pretty shattered here. He was a maritime engineering student and he’s worked for us since day one, about four years ago. It’s a sad day for us too. We definitely want to commemorate him in one way or another. We will involve his colleagues here to remember him in a special way,” Mr Sammut said.

Vecchia Napoli trattoria, in Luqa, where Nolan Farrugia (right) worked as a part-time waiter, closed its doors in mourning yesterday.Vecchia Napoli trattoria, in Luqa, where Nolan Farrugia (right) worked as a part-time waiter, closed its doors in mourning yesterday.

One of Mr Farrugia’s colleague, Sarah Grech, described the young man as a friend who “never stopped putting a smile on others’ faces”. “I still remember the first day we started working together and, after four years, you had to leave so much sorrow. The workplace will not be the same without you. You will never be forgotten, both as a friend and as a colleague,” Ms Grech wrote in a Facebook post accompanying a photo of Mr Farrugia and herself together with a group of their friends.

Mr Farrugia is the sixth motorcyclist to die this year. A 44-year-old man died while exiting a bend near Salina in March.

A 19-year-old from St Julian’s lost his life on the Birkirkara Road the following month. The third fatality took place on a Sunday afternoon in June when a bike rider, 43, skidded into the wall of the southbound Tal-Qroqq tunnel. A Polish woman who was riding pillion was seriously injured.

A woman from Gżira, 63, who was also riding as a passenger on a bike died in August, again on a Sunday afternoon, in a collision with a coach in Għadira. Then, in October, a 50-year-old man from Ta’ Xbiex died in an accident in Tarxien.

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