The youth, RC from St Paul’s Bay, was riding his Honda motorcycle in Council of Europe Street at 7am, in the direction of Luqa. At the time, an elderly man crossed the road on the zebra crossing when the traffic lights were still green for traffic.

To avoid hitting the man, the youth made a sudden movement on his motorcycle, hit the wheel of a bicycle the elderly man was pushing and lost control of his bike.

The motorcycle, with the youth still clinging on, careered off the road and crashed into a tree. The youth died on impact.

An ambulance arrived on scene and the

doctor certified that the youth had died.

Duty magistrate Antonio Mizzi was informed about the case. He appointed several court experts to assist him with the inquiry.

The road, which is considered as one of the busiest in the area since it also leads to the airport, was closed for up to five hours after the accident took place.

Investigations are being carried out by Luqa police.