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.
The driver and the company’s four directors, brothers Kim Degabriele, 40, Philip Degabriele, 32, Noel Degabriele, 24, all from Luqa, and their sister Lee Anne Borg, 37, from Mellieħa, will be charged with the involuntary homicide of the two tourists and causing injuries to 21 other passengers.
They will also be accused of damaging the open-top bus.
The double decker after the accident.
D’Amato also will be charged with dangerous and negligent driving, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol and with failing to safeguard his own health and safety.
The directors will be charged with failing to ensure the health and safety of the passengers on the bus, failing to provide proper training to prevent workplace incidents and with failing to inform JobsPlus about the driver’s employment.
Five people have pleaded not guilty to charges relating to a horrific sightseeing tour bus accident which saw two passengers die after the bus’s top deck struck a tree branch.
Bus driver Charles D’Amato and company directors Kim Degabriele, Noel Degabriele, Philip Degabriele and Lee Anne Borg all pleaded not guilty to involuntarily causing the deaths of Belgian national Kaenraad Richard De Vrieze, 62 and Elisaveta Danielova Avdala, 37, from Spain.
They were also charged with causing injuries to 21 other passengers.
27 year-old D’Amato had been behind the wheel of the bus when it struck a low-lying tree branch in Valletta Road in Zurrieq in April 2018.