The husband of Mildred Azzopardi recalls none of the moments that followed the fatal car crash that led to his wife's death, a court heard on Tuesday.
This emerged as the compilation of evidence continued against Benjamin Chetcuti, a 23-year-old soldier from Raħal Ġdid, who is pleading not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter in an incident that occurred last July.
He was driving a Subara Impreza when he crashed into a parked Ford Fiesta in Triq Ta' Liesse, Valletta. As a result, Mildred Azzopardi was killed.
The victim died on the spot, while her husband Alfred Azzopardi spent a period of time in a life-threatening condition. Mildred Azzopardi's husband, who gave brief testimony, said that he and his wife had arrived and parked, and that he had remained seated in the driver's seat while his wife exited the car to place some items in the boot.
Shortly afterwards the impact occurred, but from that moment on he recalls nothing else, apart from waking up in hospital and learning what had happened through the authorities.
Inspector Nathan Bugeja also testified in front of Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, stating that he went to the scene shortly after the incident and explained the course of the investigation.
He said that doctors were present at the scene administering first aid, while the police immediately began investigations. The court also heard the testimony of Jonathan Joslyn, who was the first doctor to arrive on site. He described the extremely critical condition in which he found the female victim, crushed between both vehicles.
Her husband, on the other hand, was suffering from head injuries. When asked whether the accused was present at the scene, the doctor said he could not recall, as his focus was exclusively on Mildred Azzopardi and her husband.
Former Assistant Commissioner Dennis Theuma also testified, stating that the Subaru Impreza involved in the accident was registered in the name of the accused's grandfather, but that Benjamin Chetcuti was also an authorised driver. The car had an insurance policy, but it was explained that the charge of driving without insurance arose because the policy does not cover situations where the driver is under the influence of alcohol.
Court expert Marisa Cassar also testified, explaining that a swab was taken from the driver's seatbelt. From this exercise, a DNA profile of a male person was obtained, that of the accused.
In a previous sitting, the court had heard that shortly before the accident, the victim had in the vicinity with her husband.
Following the collision, Chetcuti is also being charged with having caused grievous injuries to the victim's husband through negligence, causing damage to several other vehicles, including a Toyota Vitz, a Znen, a Yamaha and a Ford Fiesta, and failing to prevent a crime despite being a public officer.
The prosecution is being led by lawyer Darlene Grima from the Office of the Attorney General, assisted by Superintendent Nicholas Vella.
The accused is being assisted by defence lawyers Franco Debono, Arthur Azzopardi and Jacob Magri, while lawyers Peter Fenech and Luigi Fenech are appearing on behalf of the victim's family.