Suspended sentence after fatal Rabat collision with horse-drawn sulky

The court heard that Huhn Privitera, 54, struck the 66-year-old Camilleri when a van ahead of her blocked her view and she suddenly came upon the slow-moving carriage. She was travelling at about 35km/h, well below the 60km/h limit, and braked but could not avoid the collision. Camilleri was thrown against the vehicle and later died in hospital. Passenger Luciano Attard was injured.

Magistrate Nadine Sant Lia acquitted Huhn Privitera of three other charges, including reckless driving. But that did not spare her criminal responsibility for the death. The ruling, as reported by Newsbook, is careful about the difference between obvious recklessness and a fatal failure that still meets the criminal threshold.

It is also careful about the road itself. The court found that the sulky’s position contributed substantially to the danger. Because two people were aboard, the carriage sat further from the roadside wall, reducing the space for overtaking. The magistrate observed that the likelihood of an accident “would have been substantially lower” had only one person been using the sulky. Even so, the court stressed that contributory negligence by another road user “does not automatically absolve a driver of criminal responsibility”.

There was another irregularity in the background. Transport Malta testified that Camilleri had a permit to ride a horse, but not the separate authorisation required to drive a horse-drawn sulky on public roads. The carriage’s licence had also expired.

That did not change the sentence. Nor did the prosecution’s initial suspicion about mobile phone use, which was excluded. Newsbook also reported there was no suggestion of alcohol or drugs.

Huhn Privitera was also disqualified from holding a driving licence for one year and ordered to pay €6,186.45 in court expenses within two years of the judgment.