Driver found guilty of causing crash, ordered to reimburse other driver's insurers

A driver who caused a head-on crash because of excessive speed has been ordered to reimburse the other driver's insurance company 14,000 euro paid in damages.   Sharon Gatt had been driving her husband’s Peugeot 106 from Siġġiewi to Rabat at around am on January 10, 2014 when the accident took place. The car skidded in a turn and crashed into an oncoming Jeep Compass driven by Lilian Muscat. The expenses suffered by the driver of the Jeep were forked out by Elmo Insurance, who provided comprehensive coverage and who subsequently turned upon the other driver to recover the sum, arguing that the Peugeot driver had been solely responsible for the accident. The Jeep driver argued in court that the other woman had manoevred the bend at excessive speed, while the latter insisted that the Jeep had ended up on the wrong lane as it approached in the opposite direction. Two police officers testified about 12-metre long brake marks compatible with the tyre-width of the defendant’s Peugeot. Mr Justice Lawrence Mintoff concluded that the excessive speed by the defendant when taking the slippery bend had been the primary factor which had caused the Peugeot to skid and crash into the oncoming...