Pelin Kaya's sister Derya on Thursday told a vigil at the Gżira site where she was brutally killed a year ago she wished she had been killed instead of her younger sibling.

The Turkish interior designer was walking on Msida Road on January 18 of last year, moments after turning 30, when a BMW ploughed into her.

The car came to a stop after crashing into a petrol station and the glass window of a KFC restaurant.

CCTV footage showed the driver - Jeremie Camilleri - walking away from the wreckage and incredulously hurling rocks at Pelin as she lay dying on the side of the road.

Tasered by the police within minutes, Camilleri later said he wanted to be famous. He is pleading not guilty.

One year after her murder, Pelin's family spoke to Times of Malta about the way their lives have been savagely uprooted. Derya, however, has said she has “absolute faith” in the Maltese justice system and that the accused will be punished in the “harshest” manner.

On Thursday, a tearful Derya placed her sister's favourite flower - a red gerbera daisy - at the memorial site set up just outside the KFC outlet. The  Gżira outlet remained closed. 

She was followed by members of the Turkish Embassy including Ambassador Erdeniz Şen, Foreign Affairs Minister Ian Borg, Sliema Mayor John Pillow, Gżira Mayor Conrad Borg Manche, a KFC representative, friends of Pelin and members of the Turkish community.

European President Roberta Metsola was also present.

Addressing the crowd with the help of an interpreter, Derya said she wished she had died on that faithful day instead of her sister. 

"We are where Pelin took her last breath. I wish it was me instead: her death has scarred me," she told those present, thanking them for not leaving her alone during this difficult night.

"Our human brain cannot make sense of the tragedy that took place a year ago at this site... we just have to endure it as a family."

Derya said all that was left was for the justice system to take its course and serve justice for Pelin.