Hundreds of people turned up in Gzira this evening to pay tribute and show respect to the Turkish woman who was killed on Wednesday.

Pelin Kaya died early on Wednesday morning after she was hit by a car which then crashed into a Gzira outlet, the police said.

The police had first said in a statement that the accident had occurred in Testaferrata Street, Gzira, but it was later established that it had taken place in Msida Road, Gzira. The two streets and localities adjoin each other

The 30-year-old woman was taken to hospital where she succumbed to the injuries sustained. She was killed on her birthday.

Jeremie Camilleri, 33, of Lija, has been charged with wilful homicide.

Camilleri was also charged with driving under the influence of drugs, injuring two other bystanders, causing damage to the petrol station and restaurant and other vehicles, breaching a probation order and with possession of cocaine and diazepm.

The hundreds who gathered in Gzira on Friday evening carried candles and flowers, placing them on the side of the road where Kaya died.

It was an emotional turn-out in spite of the cold and rainy evening, with some people seen wiping away tears.

 

“She was having so many dreams about Malta,” her uncle said at the vigil, with the help of a translator. “It was as if she chose Malta over us.”

We thought it was a safe place, but it turned out to be a different story. “We believe that he (Camilleri) will get the punishment he deserves with the support of the Maltese community.

Her mother is still dumbstruck, that’s why she cannot come to Malta, he said. She was our precious, only one. They took her away from us. This pain is just not possible to describe. She was such a successful internal designer and architect, and she wanted to this here," he said, visibly emotional.

"Pelin is still in love with Malta," he said.