Some €51,000 worth of structural damage was caused to private property when the car Jeremie Camilleri was driving crashed into an outlet in Gzira in an accident which left Turkish woman Pelin Kaya dead, a court heard Monday.

Magistrate Rachel Montebello heard several witnesses testify on Monday, as the compilation of evidence against Camilleri continued. Camilleri is accused of the wilful homicide of Kaya in January on the same evening she had celebrated her 30th birthday. Kaya, a Turkish national who worked in Malta, was walking home when Camilleri hit her, with the car ending up crashing into the KFC outlet.

A representative from LESA told the court that on 22 January, some three days after the accident, the defendant’s mother had settled a speeding fine incurred by the same BMW X5 Camilleri was driving on the day.

Other witnesses who testified today included the General Manager of Food Chain Ltd, the company which operates KFC restaurants in Malta, who told the court that a total of €37,012 were spent repairing the damage caused to outlet. The crash destroyed furniture and the glass shopfront, as well as causing a loss of income while repairs were carried out.

The large shopfront window was made of tempered glass.

Paul Buhagiar, the director of the Paul and Rocco petrol station, which had also been extensively damaged by Camilleri’s BMW, testified that the cost of the damage caused by the accident amounted to nearly €15,000

The car had damaged three filling points as well as brickwork. “He hit us first, then crashed into KFC,” Buhagiar explained.

The damaged pumps needed to be replaced and excavations had to be carried out to inspect for any damage to the underground tanks. The total bill for the repairs came to €14,219, he said, exhibiting two invoices to the court.

The witness said that the police had gone straight to the petrol station owners’ home and had collected the footage of the accident. “We did not touch anything,” he said.

Mariella Aquilina, the petrol station’s owner, confirmed that the police had visited her home at 3am on the morning of the incident. She had then accompanied the police officers to her office to hand over the footage.

Another witness, Fiona Brincat, who had failed to appear when summonsed for the last sitting, did not appear for today’s session either, despite being notified. The court found her in contempt and ordered her to be accompanied by the police to the next sitting, in May.

Lawyer Kayleigh Bonnett from the Attorney General’s office and Police Inspector Kurt Zahra are prosecuting.

Lawyer Alfred Abela is defence counsel.

Lawyer Shazoo Ghaznavi is appearing for the victim's family, together with lawyers Charlon Gouder and Ramona Attard.