Jojo Boni’s story: “Our child cannot have died for nothing”

On my way here, I stopped by Johanna’s memorial. The only way I can hug my daughter these days is through photographs. I can only reach out and touch the cold surface of her memorial.

On 5 January 2016 at 8:00 Johanna was on her bike. She was on her way to work in Malta when she was hit by a large goods vehicle (LGV) which claimed her life. She died on the spot. She was only 27 years old.

No one can imagine how deeply we miss her. There were so many plans that never came to be. The month after Johanna was killed we were meant to go to Mexico together. We had the tickets and everything. Almost 3 years later, our court case is still ongoing. Such long intervals leave us without closure and make our grief even harder to bear.

A person who loses their spouse is a widow or widower; a child who loses its parents is an orphan. We have no word for a parent who has lost a child. That’s how unthinkable it is to lose your own daughter.

My husband Pippo is so badly affected by the loss of Johanna that he has been out of work ever since. Now I am the one holding the family together financially and emotionally.

However, I live to honour Johanna and her memory since her chance to build a future was taken from her. I want to ensure that my daughter is not simply another number in road traffic statistics. Every road traffic fatality is a tragedy.

I would like to see an information and enforcement campaign in Malta about protective and safety measures on our roads. We must address the need for proper enforcement of safety measures. We are asking for a careful reconsideration of the legislation that allows left-hand drive LGVs on the road. If the driver is so high up on the left, how can they see a biker who is driving on the right, as they are meant to according to Maltese road regulations?

We are also asking that standard safety measures like underrun protection (lateral bars to prevent cyclists from getting caught underneath an LGV in case of a crash) be enforced. These bars could have saved Johanna’s life.

Our child cannot have died for nothing. Something can and should be done to prevent similar tragedies from happening again.