The driving of a man accused of the involuntary homicide of a 10-year-old Libyan boy last 30 May had led a driving instructor who witnessed the fatal incident to pass a scathing remark a few seconds earlier, a court was told this morning.

Fatih Pancar, a 38-year-old Turkish national who lives in St Paul’s Bay and who runs a restaurant in Gżira, is pleading not guilty to causing the death of Rodwan Aghil through negligence, driving recklessly and speeding. The incident took place at around 3:30pm on St Andrews Road, next to the Luxol sports facilities.

The compilation of evidence against Mr Pancar started today, and the list of witnesses included John Davis and his wife Jessica, who had been overtaken by Mr Pancar shortly before the accident took place.

Mr Davis recounted that he was driving up the Coast Road in the direction of St Julians when a Red Peugeot started tailgating their car before overtaking them on the bend next to the ex-Forum Hotel site.

He noted that his wife was a driving instructor by profession, and that consequently they often passed remarks about bad driving whilst travelling, prompting Magistrate Carol Peralta to quip that he often did the same.

Mr Pancar’s driving, he said, led his wife to remark “what a knob,” though Ms Davis used the somewhat tamer “what an idiot” expression when she testified.

Mr Davis said that he was driving at a speed of 40-50km/h, mindful of the fact that he was driving in a residential area, a claim that was corroborated by his wife.

He said that as they passed through the traffic lights next to the Luxol facility, on the intersection with Tal-Ibraġ Road, he heard a screeching sound and a thud, and saw the boy being tossed into the air. The Peugeot was some 100 feet ahead of them at the time.

Ms Davis, who broke into tears as she recounted the incident, said that at one point, her husband told her not to look, but she nevertheless spotted the boy being tossed some 10 feet into the air before hitting the ground.

Neither husband nor wife had seen the boy going into the road, but both highlighted that the overtaking had been a dangerous manoeuvre.

In response to questions by defence counsel Jason Azzopardi, both said that the road was a one-lane street at that point, although Ms Davis acknowledged that the lane was wide enough for two cars to pass through. However, she noted that one should not overtake on a bend, and that the car went over the continuous white line in the middle.

Magistrate Peralta ultimately ordered that the width of the lane at this point should be measured.

In her testimony, Ms Davis also noted that after the incident happened, Mr Pancar came out of the car, crying and shouting, while two women who she later found out were nurses came to the boy’s aid.

Mr Pancar had a passenger, fellow Turkish national Ersin Hulur, who said that he accompanied the accused as he went to stock up on drinks for his restaurant at a St Paul’s Bay outlet.

Mr Hulur insisted that Mr Pancar was driving in a normal manner, estimating his speed to be between 50-60 km/h at one point, and could not recall overtaking the Davises’ car.

He said that at one point, he noticed something coming towards the windscreen, but did not immediately realise what it was, stating that his immediate reaction was to cover his face with his hands to protect himself.

The car was parked on the bus stop in the opposite side of the street, and Mr Pancar asked him to call an ambulance and the police, but Mr Hulur said that he was in a state of shock and found himself unable to pick up the mobile phone at the time. Passers-by ended up making the calls instead.

Earlier in the day, prosecuting inspector Carol Fabri and sergeant Roxanne Caruana both recounted that the boy could not be immediately identified, as he had no identification documents with him and there were no friends or relatives around.

Insp. Fabri said that no one inside the Luxol grounds and the nearby Sprachcaffe knew about any missing children, so an internal message was sent to all police districts in case someone reported a missing child.

At around 8pm, a young woman and a young man – the victim’s sister and uncle – asked about the child, who had since died in Mater Dei Hospital, at the St Julians police station, and they subsequently identified him at the hospital mortuary.

Mr Pancar had been granted bail on his arraignment, which took place on 1 June.

The case continues on 8 October. Inspector Trevor Micallef also prosecuted, while lawyer Kris Busietta also appeared for Mr Pancar.