A mother and her younger son were acquitted nearly 22 years after a 10-month-old baby girl lost her life in a traffic accident. But another sibling was convicted of dangerous and negligent driving which led to the death of the baby.

He was fined and had his driving licence suspended.

The case dates back to the afternoon of 7 August, 1992, when a Ford Anglia, driven by Joseph Camilleri, stalled at Tal-Balal, limits of  Naxxar. The driver, then 19 years old, rushed home and took his mother’s Peugeot 106. He also told his 13-year old brother Aaron to assist him in towing the vehicle. 

The elder brother got into the Peugeot to tow the Anglia, while his under-aged brother took the driver's seat of the towed car, to help steer and stop the Anglia as needed.

Unfortunately, the tow rope broke and got entangled in the right front wheel and stabiliser of the Anglia. The car, with the 13-year-old behind the wheel crossed onto the other side of the road, and smashed into an oncoming Skoda Forman.

Anthony Zammit, his wife Rita and four children were in the Skoda, the wife in the front passenger seat, and 10-months-old twins Greta and Lynn, their three-year-old sister Janice and 12-year-old cousin Erica on the back seat. The twins were strapped into baby seats.

Following the accident, Greta was rushed to hospital badly injured, her father Anthony suffered grievous injuries and the wife and Lynn were slightly injured. Erica escaped unscathed. Neither the driver nor the front passenger were wearing seat belts.

Greta died 17 days later.

13-year old Aaron, who was in the Anglia, ended unconscious, but later recovered and had stitches inserted in his forehead and chin. He was pulled out of the car by his own brother.

The police charged 19-year-old Joseph and brother Aaron with driving a vehicle while not covered by insurance, driving an unlicensed and uninsured car, the involuntary homicide of little Greta, grievously injuring her father, and causing slight injuries to the mother and baby Lynn.

42-year-old Mary Camilleri, the mother of the accused, had the same charges levelled against her, as the person responsible for under-aged Aaron.

In November 1993, a year after the accident, medical expert Victor Grech testified how 10-month-old Greta was taken to the Casualty Department unconscious and doctors could not get her heartbeat. She was administered medicine and resuscitated. The baby was kept on cardiovascular support ventilation at the Special Baby Unit.

However X-rays showed she had fractured the first two vertebrae. The baby succumbed to her injuries on 24 August – 17 days after the accident. Pathologists Ali Safraz and Marie Therese Camilleri confirmed that the baby had died due to fractured and dislocated cervical vertebrae and necrosis of the brain.

The accused also testified, with Mary Camilleri confirming that on the day of the accident she was at home recovering from migraine, for which she had already been hospitalised.

“I heard the front door opening and saw Joseph with blood on his shirt. He was accompanied by another man who told me that Aaron had been taken to hospital. I panicked but the man tried to calm me down. We all went to hospital where Aaron was having his chin and head stitched,” the woman told the court. Her sons corroborated her evidence, saying that the mother was not aware of what had happened and was not in any way involved.

“I took my brother with me to help me. I knew he was young and should not drive”, the elder said. Aaron explained he had been told to simply steer the car and press on the brake pedal.

“I had no experience or knowledge on how to tow cars. The rope snapped and wrapped around the wheel, and the car went sideways. I was injured in the same accident”, he said.

In 2007, both the prosecution and the defence concluded their evidence, but the case was shelved awaiting judgement. It was only after the retirement of presiding Magistrate Joseph Apap Bologna that the case was re-assigned. Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras took over the case in April last year.

Defence counsel Arthur Azzopardi argued that child seats were not properly secured on the rear seat. “Greta, in particular, was not even tightly strapped in her seat. No abrasion marks were found on her body, contrary to those found on the shoulder of her twin sister. Furthermore the seat was occupied by four children - two of whom were snuggled between the car seats”, the lawyer said.

But the court threw out the argument, saying that this was an assumption as no evidence was brought forward to prove this.

The court ruled that minors under 14 years of age are exempt from any criminal responsibility for acts done without intent. This resulted in the elimination of proceedings against Aaron Camilleri - who now is 35 years old.

The charges against the mother were also dropped as it was proved that she was neither aware of what had happened, nor was she present at the site of the accident.

Magistrate Galea Sciberras convicted Jason Camilleri, now 41, of the involuntary homicide of 10-month-old Greta, due to dangerous and negligent driving.

The court ruled that the elder brother was aware of the risks involved in putting his younger brother behind the wheel. “Although you could not assume that an accident would follow, you knew he was not licensed to drive a car, and that your actions violated traffic regulations”, the magistrate told the accused.

Jason Camilleri was fined €4,000 and had his driving licence suspended for five months.