On the 19th October 2017 at around 19:40, Stephanie Rapa while crossing Triq ix-Xatt, Gzira from the side where there was the sea to the side of the restaurants, was ran over by a Nissan GTR car driven by Anthony Chircop. Stephanie Rapa was certified dead at 20:15 that same evening.
A case before the First Hall Civil Court was opened by the parents of the deceased Stephanie Rapa, for damages and to determine responsibility. The First Hall Civil Court on the 18th June 2022 passed judgment and split the responsibility of the accident 50/50 between Rapa and Chircop.
The parents of Rapa felt aggrieved by the decision of the First Court, since the Court had found that Rapa was held to have been 50% responsible for the incident, and lodged an appeal. In their appeal application the parents of Rapa insisted that the proximate cause of the accident was that of Anthony Chircop alone.
The Court of Appeal took cognizance of the decision of the First Court, and took into consideration the following points which were highlighted in the appeal application of the Rapa family:
- The vehicle in question, the Nissan GTR, was able to accelerate to a speed of 60mph from 0 in 2.8 seconds. In fact, the nickname of this car is Godzilla.
- The vehicle in question was being driven at a speed of 140km/h.
- The vehicle left burnout marks of 44.80 meters and this was a result of the torque.
The Court also took into consideration that although the incident happened in the evening the road was well lit up. The weather conditions were good as the roads were dry and the visibility was good. Anthony Chircop did not even see Stephanie Rapa till he hit her. Stephanie Rapa was not wearing dark clothes; on the contrary she was wearing very bright clothes. The vehicle was going so fast that the airbags of the car came out and the windscreen even shattered. The vehicle suffered damages of €8,000.
The Court of Appeal noted that such a car should not be driven on the Maltese roads, especially when the maximum speed limit in Malta in 80km/h. Moreover, the Court noted that the speed limit of the road where the incident occurred was 50km/h.
As a result, the Appellant Court agreed with the appeal application lodged by the Rapa family as the Court held that there was no doubt that the reckless driving of Anthony Chircop was the sole cause of the death of Stephanie Rapa. It was due to the fact that Anthony Chircop was driving at the speed of 140km/h and using the torque of the car that he placed himself in such a position that he could not prevent an accident from occurring. The Court of Appeal found Anthony Chircop to be 100% responsible for the accident and condemned him to pay damages of €323,944.
