Magistrate raps police over shoddy work in open-top bus tragedy prosecution
As the compilation of evidence against the driver involved in the open-top bus tragedy of 2018 continues, Magistrate Joe Mifsud says some charges may be time-barred
30 April 2021, 11:43am
by Matthew Agius
The open-top bus was being driven in Żurrieq when it struck a tree branch that injured several passengers and killing two
Prosecutorial shortcomings took centre stage as the compilation of evidence against the driver of an open-top bus which struck a tree branch and killed two passengers continued.
Magistrate Joe Mifsud presided the case against Charles D’Amato, who is accused of involuntary homicide, after the fatal accident.
The driver of a double-decker tourist bus that crashed in 2018, killing two and injuring many others, tested negative in a breathalyser test after the incident, a court heard on Friday.
Charles D’Amato, 27, faces charges of involuntary homicide following the deaths of a Spanish woman and Belgian man and injuries suffered by 21 other passengers in the April 2018 crash, when passengers on the bus’ top deck were hit by a tree branch.
Prosecutors have also charged him with dangerous and negligent driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
An inspector who testified on Friday said that a breathalyser test administered after the incident found no traces of alcohol in D’Amato’s breath.
A court has been told that the driver at the wheel of a double-decker bus involved in the fatal accident that happened in Żurrieq three years ago was not driving under the influence of alcohol
Driver Charles D’Amato who was driving the double-decker bus involved in the fatal accident that happened in Żurrieq three years ago was not driving under the influence of alcohol, Police Inspector Pier Guido Saliba testified on Friday morning, saying that no alcohol was detected through the breathalyzer test.
Charles D’Amato from Qormi, and the company’s four directors Kim Degabriele, 40, Philip Degabriele, 32, Noel Degabriele, 24, all from Luqa, and their sister Lee Anne Borg, 37, from Mellieħa appeared in court on Friday. The five accused who pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against them, are facing charges over the involuntary homicide of a 62-year-old Belgian man and 37-year-old Spanish woman.