Police constable Simon Schembri is out of intensive care and has taken his tentative first steps as he slowly recovers from a hit-and-run incident which left him mangled and close to death.

The 48-year-old officer lost an arm and suffered serious injuries to his limbs and lungs in a May 15 incident which 17-year-old Liam Debono has been accused of.

Mr Debono has been charged with the attempted murder of PC Schembri, and on Wednesday a magistrate ruled there was enough evidence for the young man to face a trial by jury on the charges.

Magistrate Joseph Mifsud ruled that Mr Debono should be placed under a bill of indictment at the end of a courtroom session which saw police officers and civilians who witnessed the alleged hit-and-run testify.

The court heard emergency calls the eyewitnesses had placed in the minutes after the incident, with those same witnesses recalling how they had spotted something lying on the ground and then discovered, to their horror, that it was a wounded person.

READ: PC Schembri's anguished first words following the incident

Officers chasing the Mercedes Mr Debono was driving told the court how the accused had crashed the car and tried to make a getaway on foot, running into a wheat field before surrendering.

"I'm underage," he told arresting officers. "That car is stolen. It's my sister's."

Another police officer, Matthew Cachia, found PC Schembri lying on the ground. As he tended to his wounded colleague, PC Schembri asked officer Cachia to take photos of him.

Officer Cachia obliged, whipping out his mobile phone and snapping three photos of the victim – photos which were exhibited in court on Wednesday.

One civilian who was driving towards Qormi that day told the court that he spotted the silver Mercedes twice during that morning’s commute: once on the Għaxaq bypass, when he remembered that it had tried to overtake on the left lane, and again in Luqa, when he spotted it in his rear view mirror, speeding towards him.

The witness’ claim about having seen the Mercedes in Għaxaq was denied by defence lawyer Franco Debono, who said his client had not driven on that road.

The witness replied by saying he was not sure where exactly he had seen the car that morning, but that he remembered it because of its illegal overtaking manoeuvre.

Lawyers Franco Debono and Amadeus Cachia were defence counsel. Arthur Azzopardi and Andy Ellul represented PC Schembri parte civile. Inspectors Fabian Fleri, PierGuido Saliba and Chantelle Casha prosecuted. 

Follow a minute-by-minute account of events in the courtroom below.

11.23am You can follow a minute-by-minute account of how proceedings unfolded in the courtroom this morning below. If that's not your cup of tea, we'll have a summary of events online shortly. 

11.21am He says that there are suffient grounds for the accused, Mr Debono, to be placed under a bill of indictment.

And with that, the magistrate brings the sitting to a close. The compilation of evidence will now continue in July. 

11.18am Magistrate Joseph Mifsud thanks all parties for having brought forward 33 witnesses to testify over the court of just three sittings. 

Mr Debono, the magistrate says, is speaking to a probation officer who is helping him on the path to a better life. 

11.15am PC Schembri is now out of intensive care and has been transferred to another ward, the prosecutor tells the court. He's even managed to walk a few steps. 

11.13am Police have been unable to unlock Mr Debono's mobile phone, Inspector Fabian Fabri tells the court. 

Unless the owner hands police his phone's pattern lock, they will not be able to retrieve data from the phone. 

11.10am By the time Mr Mamo made his second emergency call, the Mercedes has reemerged from the industrial estate, he tells the court. He never identified who was driving the car, he says. 

11.01am Mr Mamo is asked a number of questions to clarify his testimony. He explains that he saw no impact and nothing beneath the Mercedes. He only saw a body on the ground as the car sped off. 

10.58am Defence lawyer Franco Debono interjects. He says his client had not driven on the Għaxaq bypass that morning, as the witness had recalled. 

Mr Mamo replies by saying that he couldn't remember precisely where it was, but that he remembered the Mercedes trying to overtake on the left. 

10.55am  Having called for help, Mr Mamo then tried to keep bystanders away from the victim. He tells the court that he works in the medical field and felt he had a duty to help out. 

10.50am Mr Mamo rushed out of his car and ran towards the victim. He dialled for help, twice - once to 196 to request an ambulance, and once to the 112 emergency hotline.

"They've run over someone," he told the emergency operator. "He's lying on the ground."

10.42am Not quite sure what was  going on, Mr Mamo swerved his car and stopped along a rounded pavement at the entrance to Luqa industrial estate. 

As he looked out the passenger window, he saw a "big, dark object" on the ground, as the Mercedes sped away from the site. 

He suddenly realised what that object lying on the ground was - it was a person. And when he noticed the person's helmet, he realised that the victim was a police officer. 

10.34am Mr Mamo spotted a Mercedes driving "rather aggressively" in his rear-view mirror. 

"It was swerving in my direction and driving too fast," he tells the court. 

It wasn't the first time he had seen the Mercedes that day, he says: he had also noticed the car earlier on while on the Għaxaq bypass.

It was trying to overtake on the left, he says. "I recognised the car because it had a particular yellow sticker on its front windscreen. The sticker had something written in joined-up writing, he tells the court. 

When Mr Mamo saw the Mercedes speeding towards him in Luqa, he initially thought he was being chased. 

10.33am Christopher Mamo was on his way to work in Qormi that morning. He's now on the witness stand, recalling events that day. 

10.26am Mr Darmanin handed the first aider a belt, which he used to try and stem the flow of blood from PC Schembri's arm. 

The court is hearing the 112 call Mr Darmanin made that day. The shock in his voice is palpable. "Come quickly, come quickly," he told the emergency hotline.

We thought it was a bumper. Then we saw it move... and we realised it was a person.- Eyewitness

   

10.25am A first aider showed up, and he seemed to know PC Schembri. 

"He began to tell him, 'Simon, stay with me. Stay with me," Mr Darmanin says.  

10.21am The car seemed to bump up, and Mr Darmanin noticed something black left behind on the tarmac. 

"We thought it was a bumper," he recalled. "Then we saw it move... and we realised it was a person." 

Mr Darmanin rushed out, dialled 112 and called for help. He realised that the person was a police officer when he noticed the 'pulizija' tag on his gear. 

"I bent over him to see if he was still alive. He was not moving or speaking," Mr Darmanin said. 

10.18am It's civilians' turn to take the witness stand. First up is Kenneth Darmanin, who manages a business close to where the incident happened. 

Mr Darmanin was in his office and keeping a lookout for work vans, when he heard a loud, screeching braking sound. 

He looked towards the main road, and saw a silver Mercedes swerving around. 

10.13am PC Sacco spoke to three bystanders who had seen the Mercedes speed away. They gave him its number plate - KAS 686 - and pointed him in the direction it had headed. 

PC Sacco drove off in pursuit, and came across a handcuffed Liam Debono, surrounded by Rapid Intervention Unit officers. 

10.11am Next to take the witness stand - PC Michael Sacco, who was stationed at Luqa police station. 

When he arrived at the site, PC Schembri was receiving first aid. He looked badly injured. 

"I couldn't bear to look at him," PC Sacco tells the court.  

10.06am PC Schembri recognised him, and told him "he drove towards me" [saq għal fuqi]

He then asked officer Cachia to take photos of him.

"I wasn't sure I had heard him correctly," the witness says, "so I asked him again."

PC Schembri repeated his request, and the officer complied. He took three photos of his colleague as lay there wounded, using his mobile phone. 

PC Schembri also asked his colleague not to mention anything to his wife yet. 

The photos were exhibited in court and shown to the magistrate. 

10am We're now hearing from one of the first officers on the scene - Matthew Cachia. 

When he arrived, PC Schembri was lying on the ground, with a brownish patch spreading around him. 

"It was my colleague Simon..." he tells the court. His voice crackles and he has to stop to compose himself. 

"I asked him about his leg," he says. "How could I ask him about his arm when it was shattered?" 

9.53am The Mercedes' air bags blew open upon impact, and Mr Debono immediately got out of the car and tried to make a getaway on foot. 

He ran into a wheat field, but soon surrendered and put his hands up in the air.

"I'm underage," he told arresting officers. "That car is stolen. It's my sister's." 

9.50am Mr Debono tried to manoeuvre out of the narrow road - but he ended up trapped and crashed into a wall.  

9.45am He was sent out as part of a search party. They came across a large truck. Right behind it, tailgating it, was Mr Debono in the Mercedes. 

9.44am Sergeant Gareth D'Amato, who was stationed at Ta' Kandja, takes the witness stand. 

Sergeant D'Amato was on duty the morning of the incident. He recalls how a call came in via radio telling them of the incident and that police were on the lookout for a Mercedes in the Ħal Farruġ area. 

9.39am Police found a part of PC Schembri's jacket lodged into a back part of the Mercedes, close to its bumper. Some of the clothing collected was drenched in blood and had to be dried at the forensics lab. 

9.35am The Mercedes was a left-hand drive vehicle, a forensics expert is telling the court. They took DNA samples from the car, as well as a sample of its paint work.  

Forensics expert Arthur Borg tells the court he later collected PC Schembri's clothing from hospital. His vest and shirt showed clear signs of friction, he explains. 

9.31am If you missed previous sittings in the compilation of evidence, you can have a read of our reports from the courtroom. Among the key pieces of testimony which emerged: 

• The Mercedes Mr Debono was driving belonged to his sister, who also had no licence, and was garaged.
• Mr Debono was driving the car using stolen number plates, which he bought off a man in Żejtun for €10.
• Just four days previously, Mr Debono had been caught driving without a licence and had crashed into another car. That case was never reported because the person he crashed into declined to press charges.
• Constable Schembri had initially stopped Mr Debono because he was not wearing a seatbelt. He then radioed in and discovered the car’s number plates were stolen.
• The friction mark caused by the Mercedes was 360 metres long.
• PC Schembri was wearing upgraded protective gear which he had paid for from his own pocket.
• Mr Debono remained calm, collected and tight-lipped during his police interrogation. He told interrogators he had recognised PC Schembri and had weaved to dislodge him, and asked about his condition. 

9.26am PC Schembri's name tag, zip bag, rubber discs, fragments from his helmet and padding from his jacket were all found on the road northbound from the Lidl supermarket in Luqa, an officer is telling the court. There was a zigzagging friction mark all along the way. 

Blood samples were collected from the scene where PC Schembri received first aid. 

9.24am People who dialled 112 on the morning of the incident are expected to be called to the witness bench to identify their call from a compilation of recordings.