A man who witnessed the aftermath of the Gżira crash that killed Pelin Kaya in January recalled on Thursday the anguish of a man who, wailing “she is my girlfriend,” begged for news of the victim who had just been rushed to hospital.

The man - Kaya’s boyfriend - reached the scene after the 30-year-old Turkish victim was killed when a black BMW ploughed into her as she walked down Testaferrata Street early on January 18. 

A number of eyewitnesses testified about the aftermath of that fatal episode when proceedings continued on Thursday against 33-year-old Jeremie Camilleri who stands accused of wilful homicide. 

The accused was drunk and high on cocaine when he swerved onto the pedestrian, then hit the petrol station and crashed into the glass front of the KFC restaurant, court heard. 

A Maltese Mazda driver, who that night was driving from Msida to Sliema recalled seeing the dark, crashed BMW, stones scattered across the street and a tall man throwing bricks at a woman on the pavement. 

He called the police for help and headed home. 

A Pakistani national who was working late and was heading to the Paul and Rocco service station to refuel said he suddenly spotted the accused shouting and kicking up a commotion.

“That guy,” said the witness, turning and pointing in the direction of the accused seated at the dock.

Someone had warned him not to approach the aggressor who was beating up people.

A couple of bystanders tried to tackle him and restrain him.

The witness also recalled a man who arrived at the scene later, asking people about the victim, crying: “she is my girlfriend".

Police tried to communicate with him, seeking details that could help them identify the victim.

But communication was hampered by the fact that the man did not speak English. That was when the witness intervened, calling a Turkish friend who helped to translate police questions.

The victim had already been rushed to hospital and it was very difficult to break the news of her death to the man, who sobbed and banged his head against a table in grief.

The witness, who had seen the victim, lying unconscious with blood on her face, said the alleged aggressor was "very hyper, very high and jumping”.

He threatened that if police approached him, he would fight them.

People looked on, some filming the incident, he said.

The witness too had a video and was asked to produce a copy in evidence. 

'I never saw anything like that in my life'

Another witness - a Moroccan national who was returning home after waiting in vain for several hours to get treatment in hospital - said he saw the accused attacking people, throwing rocks at them and “football cheering". The accused shouted “1, 2, 3 vive l’Algerie,” said the witness.

He then saw the accused throw a sizable stone at the figure on the ground, said the witness as Pelin’s mother, sitting two rows behind the accused, wept in court, consoled by relatives.

The witness saw the accused attack a black Peugeot vehicle at the corner of the petrol station and also took a video of the episode. 

“We were all in shock. All in shock. I never saw anything like that in my life.”

Another man was having a coffee break and was chatting to an employee at a nearby pastizzeria when he spotted a BMW approaching from the direction of Msida at high speed, crashing right opposite him. 

“There was no braking,” recalled the witness, explaining that at first, he did not realise that someone had been hit.

The driver got out and headed in his direction.

“Give me water,” he told the man at the pastizzeria, then turned and punched a guy who happened to be washing his car nearby. 

The BMW driver then began to bang on cars that happened to drive by, attacking drivers.

He was very agitated and disoriented, recalled the witness. 

Fearing that he might end up in some scuffle with the aggressor, the witness reversed his vehicle and parked further up the street, watching the scene at a distance as the accused continued the rampage.

The man flung stones at people who tried to intervene to help the victim. He also threw a stone at the victim, added the witness, indicating the size of the stone with both hands. 

At one point, the aggressor sat down on the pavement, doing nothing, as though he was waiting for the police.

When the police arrived, they had to taser the accused and wrestle him to the ground. 

At the end of Thursday’s sitting, the court, presided over by magistrate Rachel Montebello, upheld a request by the prosecution and authorised lawyer Martin Bajada as court expert to compile an audiovisual timeline of all digital data gathered in the investigation, including bodycam footage showing the state of Camilleri’s Lija home. 

The case continues next week.

Inspector Kurt Zahra prosecuted, together with AG lawyers Nathanial Falzon and Kaylie Bonett.

Lawyers Alfred Abela and Rene’ Darmanin were defence counsel.

Lawyers Shazoo Ghaznavi, Charlon Gouder and Ramona Attard appeared parte civile.