Ms Muscat was apparently with some relatives on a small side street when the car Mr Mercieca was driving suddenly appeared out the blue, seemingly out of control and tipping over as it came round the corner. The rest of the family managed to get out of the way, but Ms Muscat was carried by the momentum of the car and slammed into a tree. The car flipped over and ended up on its roof.

Mr Mercieca was thoroughly shocked by the incident and was taken to hospital. He subsequently told police that it was 5.30pm when the accident had taken place and that he had just been to see his doctor. “I was driving along and the next thing I knew, I was upside down in my car. I got out and was relieved to realise that I was not hurt. Then someone had told me I killed a woman and I saw her near a tree. I was very confused,” he testified in court.

Mr Mercieca was apparently being treated for sinusitis and was considered to be an acute case. Some time after the incident, while he was still receiving treatment, he met an old school friend, Dr Brandon Caruana Montalto. He explained what had happened during the accident and Dr Caruana Montalto immediately said that it sounded like a classic case of “sleep apnea”.

Dr Caruana Montalto subsequently testified in court that a person with such a disorder is up to six times more susceptible to being involved in a traffic accident because they doze off. He said that the patient does not even know that he or she is dozing off. He told the court that Mr Mercieca had received proper treatment for the disorder and that it was now under control.

The court, presided over by magistrate Abigail Lofaro, said that Mr Mercieca was not at fault for the accident because it was caused by an illness which could not be identified by either the accused or his doctor. Mr Mercieca was therefore cleared of all charges.