Mġarr Roundabout Tragedy: ‘Tiny’ Maruti Was Packed With Six People Inside, Sources Confirm
No mechanical fault or flat or burst tyres led to a Maruti 800 crossing lanes and colliding with an Audi A1, leading to one of the worst traffic accidents in recent years, sources close to the investigation have confirmed with The Times of Malta.
The investigation, which is still in its early stages, includes an eyewitness account of someone who was on the scene and reportedly saw the crash themselves.
Initial accounts are indicating that the Maruti, which is meant to fit four people, had six people packed inside and was driving at an excessive speed before entering into the opposite lane where the collision is believed to have occurred.
The horrific accident killed two people, a mother and daughter, and injured seven others, including a one-year-old and two other children. It occurred last Sunday at the roundabout between Mosta and Mġarr in Triq Temi Zammit, just metres away from roadworks on Triq Buqana that claimed a Ferrari which fell into a nearby ditch that same weekend.
It is believed that 53-year-old Graziella Mallia was driving as her 31-year-old daughter Fallon Mallia sat behind her. All remaining passengers in the Maruti, which included a 77-year-old woman and Fallon’s 12-year-old son, were taken to hospital for treatment. A 29-year-old from Sliema was reportedly unharmed, and a 44-year-old was slightly injured.
The Audi A1 involved in the crash
The collision led to a public outcry over the roadworks seemingly in every corner of the island, oftentimes with a lack of proper signage.
However, a day after the crash, Transport Minister Ian Borg said that people should avoid getting political mileage out of the deaths, and said the collision had nothing to do with ongoing roadworks while appealing for less speeding on the roads.
“I must emphasise that neither incident had anything to do with the roadworks,” Borg said yesterday. “Magisterial inquires into both cases are ongoing, but I must urge everyone to maintain a sense of civic responsibility on the roads because our actions and inactions risk our own lives and that of other road users.”
An Infrastructure Malta spokesperson seconded this opinion in a statement to the Times of Malta.
“It appears that the indicated head-on collision occurred in the southbound lane of Triq Sir Temi Zammit, where no works are currently taking place. Roadside signs warning road users about the Triq il-Buqana roadworks, and the applicable reduced speed limits, are located in the roads leading to it, at both ends,” they said.
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