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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 24 JUNE 2015 5 News 10-year-old thrown ten feet into the air by car, court told Court hears evidence against Fatih Pancar, charged with involuntary homicide of young boy during a traffic accident outside Luxol grounds last month MATTHEW AGIUS A court has heard a British driv- ing instructor describe how a 10- year-old pedestrian was thrown 10 feet into the air when he was hit by a car near the Luxol grounds. Jessica Davis and her husband John were testifying yesterday in the compilation of evidence against Turkish-born Fatih Pan- car, who is charged with the in- voluntary homicide of young Rodwan Aghil on St Andrews Road, St Andrews on 30 May. Aghil died in hospital after being hit by the red Peugeot, driven by Pancar, near the Luxol grounds at around 3:30 that Sat- urday afternoon. The Davis couple described the moments immediately before and after the fatal road accident. They had been heading home on the Coast Road in the direction of Sta Venera. As they were going round the bend near the Forum Hotel, they said, a red Peugeot overtook them in a dangerous manner. "A red Peugeot was tailgating us. We were going at around 50 km/h. I remember my wife re- marking 'what a knob' as he over- took us, but we thought nothing more of it. "Then, when we had just passed the traffic lights, which were flashing amber, I heard a bang and a screech and looked up. I saw the boy being tossed into the air." The Peugeot immediately swerved to the right after the impact and was already on the wrong side of the road, said John Davis. Davis was briefly overcome by emotion as she described the ac- cident. "The other car was main- ly on the right-hand lane and swerving, near the lotto office. Then all of a sudden as I looked up, the car in front of us swerved to the right and I saw the boy somersault about ten feet up into the air. "My husband told me not to look. We stopped and these two ladies, whom we later learned were nurses, came to help but..." she trailed off sobbing. Answering a question put to her by Magistrate Carol Peralta, the driving instructor said that the stretch of road where the accident took place had a single lane, but that "they tend to dou- ble up there." Asked separately by defence lawyer Jason Azzopardi, both witnesses replied that they had not seen the boy dash across the street before being hit by the car. Azzopardi asked the woman to describe the road markings. "It was a solid white line and besides, you don't overtake on a bend," she replied. "The driver of the Peugeot got out of the car, crying and scream- ing hysterically," said the witness. "Then, when the nurses came to assist, he lay down on his front." The passenger in the Peu- geot however, stressed several times that the traffic lights were green when his friend had driven through them. Ersin Hulur said that they were on their way back to Gzira after going to stock up on drinks for the accused's shop. Asked how the accused was driv- ing, he replied that was "normal," saying they were going at "maybe 50, maximum 60 km/h" when pressed by the magistrate. He said that he was talking to Pancar when they passed the traf- fic lights and recalled flinching as something hit the windscreen. "The boy came from nowhere," said the witness, also confirming that he had not seen anybody on the pavement at the time. In broken English, he said that he was shaking so much after the accident that he was unable to fish his mobile phone out of his pocket and that he gave the phone to the accused as he "could not touch the numbers". Hulur said he could not remem- ber overtaking another car. Police sergeant Roxanne Caru- ana, from the St Julian's police station, had arrived at the scene after being dispatched by the control room. "When I arrived, I found two nurses from the St John Ambulance Corps assisting a boy who was on the ground, who was bleeding from the head." She said that she had noted the car had stopped on the wrong side of the road, in the lane meant for oncoming traffic, adding that the boy was approximately one me- tre away from the vehicle, which, the court was told, had sustained damage to the bonnet and wind- screen. Inspector Carol Fabri, leading the prosecution together with In- spector Trevor Micallef, testified that police had to break the news to the boy's uncle and sister who came to report Aghil as missing later that day. They identified the body at the mortuary, she said. The case will continue in early October, the court ordering a forensics expert to present meas- urements of the width of the road up to the dividing line as well as the width of the cars involved in the accident. Lawyer Kris Busietta also ap- peared for Pancar. Court denies bail to supermarket thief MATTHEW AGIUS A court yesterday denied bail to an Ivorian man accused of bodily harm and theft, in spite of a vig- orous defence by his legal coun- sel. Moumen Troure was originally arraigned under arrest on 8 June, accused of having stolen items from Arkadia supermarket on two occasions: one in 2014 and another earlier this month, on 7 June, with relapsing and with breaching a probation order. Troure was also accused of cre- ating a public nuisance and caus- ing slight injury to two men who performed a citizen's arrest on him at Arkadia and in addition, the Ivorian had been charged with not handing over to the po- lice, within two months, a mobile phone which had been lost and which he had found. However, during submissions, it had emerged that one of the alleged victims had sustained a grievous injury – which exceed- ed the competence of the court of magistrates and so a compilation of evidence has been ordered. However, Troure's lawyer, Joseph Mifsud, claimed that no answers were forthcoming when he inquired as to what was to become of his client and so he was requesting bail. "It's a good thing that I filed this application because it helps them remember that there is an accused who is a human being." Mifsud argued that the accused had not arrived on a f light but by boat and that he had an ID card issued by the State, which he said, rendered an objection to bail on the grounds of lack of ties to Malta baseless. "Even a Maltese person can skip bail," said the lawyer. The case would take time to be heard and decided due to the compilation of evidence and it might mean that the accused would be made to spend more time in custody than his eventual sentence. "It is true that the ac- cused was a bit naughty, but he is still presumed to be innocent until proven guilty." However lawyer Anthony Vella, from the office of the Attorney General, pointed out that the victim had suffered broken ribs – which constituted grievous bod- ily harm. "Our objections to bail stem from the accused's lack of strong ties to Malta. He changes his addresses frequently and wit- nesses are yet to be heard." Inspector Trevor Micallef in- formed the court that Troure had received three sentences in three years, spending some time at Corradino prisons. The court noted that simply be- ing in possession of an ID card does not make it any less likely for the holder to abscond and added that the ultimate punish- ment would likely be substan- tially longer than the length of preventive arrest and therefore this did not constitute a reason for bail. It held that the request for bail was premature, as the place from where the thefts occurred, as well as the victims, were readily identifiable and that the accused had previous convictions and had breached probation. The magistrate, however, urged the prosecution to put forward its witnesses as expeditiously as possible to minimise the time spent in detention. Bulgarian man grievously injured in Paceville The 30-year-old is believed to have sustained his injuries in an argument outside a club in Wilga Street, Paceville, before walking back to his hotel and requesting assistance A Bulgarian man was griev- ously injured on Monday night, sustaining wounds to his neck with what is thought to be a pointed instrument. District police were informed of the case by the Emergency Department at Mater Dei Hos- pital, which received a request for assistance from a hotel in Main Street, St Julian's. The 30-year-old is believed to have sustained his injuries in an argument outside a club in Wilga Street, Paceville, before walking back to his hotel and requesting assistance. He was conveyed to hospital. His injuries, while grievous, are not of lfie-threatening. Police investigations contin- ue. YOUR FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY www.maltatoday.com.mt Rodwan Aghil, died in hospital after being hit by a car