A driver who was involved in a fatal traffic accident seven years ago has been fined €5,000 and ordered to perform 400 hours of community work after a court ruled that jailing him was of no benefit to anyone.
The case took place in April 2010 on Siggiewi Road, Zebbug. Jeremy Cilia, 38, was driving his Maruti out of a side road, causing Jesmond Scicluna, who as riding a Honda motorcycle, to swerve towards the other side of the road.
Scicluna had lost control of the bike as a result, hitting an oncoming truck.
Cilia had then been charged with causing the fatality through negligent and dangerous driving and damaging third party property.
The court, presided over by Magistrate Joseph Mifsud, said it was presented with two conflicting versions. The only eyewitness in the case was the truck driver.
A court expert said that, as a side road user, Cilia had shown a great degree of negligence and failed to take all necessary precautions when exiting past a stop sign.
The court also heard how Scicluna had been driving at 101km/hour, well over the legal limit.
Both these factors had contributed to the accident, the court declared, but the accused should have been more careful and kept a proper lookout.
The court noted that Cilia has a clean criminal record and there was no need for him to reform. The magistrate said that jailing the accused was of little benefit but the court also wanted to sent out a message that life is not cheap and destroying life, even if unintentionally, amounts to a serious and grave act.
Apart from receiving a fine and the community work, which will possibly be carried out with Puttinu Cares, Cilia was also disqualified from driving for two years.