Police Constable Jean Claude Mangion, who has been charged with involuntary homicide after running over a motorcyclist, maintained that he never saw the motorcycle’s lights on, that the street was not well lit and that there was poor visibility. He also said the victim was not wearing a helmet.
The 22-year-old police constable from Qrendi was testifying in the case instituted against him after her ran over a 32-year-old man from Floriana on 10 January 2014. As a result of the hit, Mr Brincat lost his life. The incident took place on the main street of Mqabba.
Responding to questions by his own lawyer Robert Abela, Mr Mangion said that at the time of the accident he had only been a policeman for about a year. He said that his shift at the Cospicua police station was to begin at 5am.
Mr Mangion testified that on the early morning in question, after getting in his car he waited a couple of minutes in order for the dew to clear from his windscreen. His intention was to drive to the police station to begin his shift.
According to the accused, at the time of the accident the roads were very damp and visibility was poor. He said there was no traffic.
Mr Mangion testified that while driving along the main street of Mqabba, he suddenly heard a noise, causing him to stop the car to investigate what happened. He said that this is when he saw Mr Brincat and his motorcycle on the ground. He stressed that he did not even see the motorbike coming out onto the main road, did not see the light of the motorcycle and maintained that the man was not wearing a helmet.
After finding him on the ground, Mr Mangion claimed to have tried to speak to the victim, who did not respond. Shortly after he saw a car passing and stopped it in order to use the driver’s mobile and call for help. Mr Mangion claimed that he called 119 emergency, and told them of what happened, was told that they would be calling an ambulance and was asked by the emergency line to call the Cospicua police station and inform them of what happened.
He claimed to have asked the 119 emergency dispatcher what he could do to help the victim, to which he was told that unless he was a doctor he could not do anything.
Sometime later, another car pulled over and the driver inspected the victim, and informed Mr Mangion that he was dead. A third car then passed, driven by a woman, and said the same thing about the victim.
When the third driver informed Mr Mangion that she was the journalist Julia Farrugia, the accused maintained that a panic attack took hold, and went to rest against a wall.
Mr Mangion hotly denied the testimony of Ms Farrugia where she said that she overheard Mr Mangion saying that he could not do anything to help at the time of the incident because there was a journalist present.
A breathalyser conducted after ambulances were called to the scene, Mr Mangion was taken to hospital and certified to be ok and was given an ECG examination. It is unclear as to how long the trip to Mater Dei and the examinations took place before he was breathalysed.
Mr Mangion refuted claimed by the parte civile that he was in a rush for work, backing this up by saying that he had never seen anybody getting reported at work for being a few minutes late. He concluded by insisting that his car lights were on and that the street was not well lit at all.
Magistrate Doreen Clarke presided over the case, while lawyer Lucio Schriha is parte civile for the victim.
Inspector Johan Fenech prosecuted.