Six months suspended sentence for the man who caused the death
Six months suspended sentence for the man who caused the death of Johanna Boni in a crash in Naxxar? In my bloody country, a person’s life means so little!
I am outraged that Carmel Cauchi was sentenced to a mere six months in prison, suspended for one year, after the Court of Appeal accepted the Attorney General’s appeal and found him guilty of causing the death of 26-year-old Johanna Boni in a traffic accident in Naxxar eight years ago. This man was also found guilty of causing damage to the victim’s motorcycle and of reckless driving.
The fatal accident occurred on 5th January 2016 in Labour Road, involving a cement truck driven by Cauchi and a motorcycle ridden by Boni.
In March of last year, Cauchi was acquitted of all charges and penalties by the First Court, which ridiculously concluded that the victim lost her life because she took the risk of overtaking the truck instead of waiting for it to move so she could safely pass from behind.
However, the Court of Appeal rightly concluded that it was the accused who drove negligently, especially given that he was driving a large, loaded truck that made loud noises. It was also noted that the truck was left-hand drive, and therefore Cauchi should have been more attentive while driving.
His inattention was so severe that, regardless of whether the victim came from the right or the left, he didn’t even realise he had hit someone and had a motorcycle trapped under the truck. This tragic accident could have been avoided had he been attentive to what was happening around him on the road.
In addition to this laughably lenient suspended sentence, Cauchi was disqualified from holding a driving licence for a pathetic three months and ordered to pay a mere €2,117 in court costs.
The sentence was delivered on Friday by Judge Edwina Grima. Is this what a life is worth in my country? It’s a disgrace.
#JusticeForJohanna #RoadSafety #LenientSentences #TrafficAccidents #NegligentDriving #LegalReform #VictimRights #PublicOutrage #MaltaNews #CarmelCauchiCase
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