A suspended driver led police on a dangerous car chase through a residential street, injuring an elderly woman and attacking officers.
Court of Magistrates (Malta) — Criminal · Magistrate Dr. Yana Micallef Stafrace LL.D. · 17 December 2025
On a December morning in 2011, traffic police in Gżira spotted Sean Zammit — whose licence had been suspended — behind the wheel of a blue BMW. When they signalled him to stop, he ran a red light and sped away. What followed was a dangerous chase through narrow residential streets. With police closing in and a work truck blocking the road ahead, Zammit reversed at high speed, crashing into parked cars and a police vehicle. An elderly woman, Josephine Cesare (71), was struck by the car and suffered a broken fibula. She spent weeks in a cast. During the arrest, Zammit's passenger Loriana Abdilla physically attacked the officers — hitting and pushing them as they tried to make the arrest. Zammit faced 17 charges including reckless driving causing serious injury, driving without a licence, no insurance, and attacking police. Abdilla faced 2 charges for assaulting and insulting officers. The court found Zammit guilty of the core charges. Because he was already under a suspended sentence from previous convictions, those earlier sentences were activated on top of the new one. Abdilla was fined for her role in the assault.
Sean Zammit: 4 years imprisonment + €6,900 fine + 1-year licence ban + €10,500 bail confiscated + prior suspended sentences activated. Loriana Abdilla: €1,000 fine.
Criminal Code Ch. 9 — reckless driving, assault, resisting police