The Maltese driver involved in a motorsport crash in Sicily that left eight people injured insisted with The Malta Independent that spectators should not have been standing in that area. “There were signs everywhere that people could not stand there,” rally car driver Ryan Mangion told this newspaper yesterday, when contacted.

The accident took place on Sunday at a motorsport rally in Piedimonte, some 35 km from Catania.

Mangion, who has eight years of experience in motorsport, said there were police standing near the spectators “who were meant to be taking care of them”.

He did admit that the accident happened so quickly that he could not be certain who was standing there.

The accident happened at around 11.30am when Mangion lost control of his car, a Ford Escort Mk1, in a curve and the vehicle hit the crowd, a risk the spectators ran by standing in such a perilous position.

Mangion explained that the spectators were standing behind a blind corner. This could be confirmed by a video of the accident that surfaced online yesterday.

Of the eight injured, a woman and a 15-year-old boy were seriously injured and taken to Cannizzaro hospital in Catania by helicopter.

The teenager was reported to have suffered internal injuries and underwent surgery. The woman was injured in the pelvis.

The other six were treated in Taormina (two) and Acireale (four).

The safety cage in the vehicle meant that Mangion escaped with unharmed.

A number of friends have taken to social media to express their support for Mangion.

The event is organised by Salerno Corse, where another two Maltese drivers took part in the event. It was stopped after the accident.

The Malta Motorsport Federation has since said it is in contact with the Maltese delegation in Sicily.