A driver, was found guilty of reckless and drunk driving which had resulted in the death of Catherine Fenech.
The court, presided over by magistrate Joe Mifsud, decided that though Emerson Vella had been driving recklessly, over-speeding and was inebriated while driving, it could not find him guilty of causing the death of Fenech since the prosecution had said that the death took place on 9 March when in reality, the victim died two years after the incident in a hospital bed.
He was, however, found guilty of reckless and drunk driving.
On 9 March 2015 at around 1.30am, Catherine Fenech was out in the rain assisting her son on Triq Dun Karm in Msida because his car couldn’t start.
Vella was driving up the road with excessive speed and lost control of the vehicle on account of the wet road. He crashed into a parked car and the parked vehicle lurched forward and hit Fenech.
Fenech eventually died in April 2017 due to the injuries she sustained that night.
Police had said that a breathalyser test Vella had consented to resulted positive. Vella had been drunk the night of the incident. Witnesses had testified that he had also been driving with excessive speeds in a residential area.
Magistrate Joe Mifsud described the case as unfortunate and sentenced the accused to pay a fine of €1,754.92 within three years. His license was also rescinded for one year.
Inspector Bernardette Vella prosecuted.
Lawyers Franco Debono and Amadeus Cachia were defence counsel.
