A bruised Gerald Galea is taken away by police officers shortly after the incident.

Matthew Spiteri took deep breaths between words as he gave the court a detailed account of how a stranger revved his car engine loudly before running over and killing his father following an argument over a shrub.

“He rammed into our van and drove into the shrub he had made such a fuss about. When he ran over my father he did not press the brakes as others would. No. The accelerator was pressed. He dragged my father for about 10 feet. My father was on the bonnet and fell off. He kept on driving... Then he reversed on to me,” the 24-year-old said as he burst into tears.

His legs shook nervously but he insisted on going on with the testimony when asked if he needed a break.

“He drove over him. With both the front and back wheels. No. He did not stop,” he said in a slow and heavy tone.

Mr Spiteri was testifying in the Gozo law courts during the compilation of evidence against Gerald Galea.

My father punched him from the driver’s window

Mr Galea, 63, from Marsalforn is pleading not guilty to murdering Mr Spiteri’s father, John, when he ran him over with his four-wheeler in Qbajjar, limits of Marsalforn, on June 19. He is also accused of trying to kill Mr Spiteri.

The young man told Magistrate Neville Camilleri how he and his father had gone to the Qbajjar car park at about 3pm to start setting up their kiosk for the summer, as they did every year.

They noticed a shrub that had grown to protrude into the space where they usually placed their kiosk.

Mr Spiteri fetched a small hatchet from their van to cut back the shrub. After some time Mr Galea, whom he had never seen in his life, turned up in his car looking “angry and nervous” because they had pruned the shrub.

Mr Galea told them he had taken note of their van’s registration number and would report them to the police. Mr Spiteri said his father told Mr Galea to go ahead and make a report.

The two men argued. His father then instructed him to take note of Mr Galea’s registration number.

“I went in front of his car and took out my mobile to write the number down. Meanwhile, he started asking my father for his name,” Mr Spiteri said.

The two men continued to argue and Mr Spiteri’s father approached Mr Galea’s car.

“My father punched him from the driver’s window... I went to pull my father away... and noticed he was bleeding from the lip… My father walked over to his van and the accused remained in the car,” the young man said, adding that he ended up behind Mr Galea’s car.

Mr Galea then started yelling: “Is that so, John” and revving the engine, he said.

“The accused reversed aggressively towards me... I tried to avoid him. I went to the middle of the parking lot. He drove round it twice and shouted: ‘Is that so, John’. My father was standing at the back of our van with his arms resting on it,” he said.

That was when he saw Mr Galea drive straight into his father who rolled over the bonnet before falling to the ground. Mr Galea then drove over his father with both front and back wheels before reversing on to Mr Spiteri.

He had just run over my father and was going to do it to me

“I grabbed on to the driver’s window. I punched him to stop. He had just run over my father and was going to do it to me. I ran towards my father.

“He turned the car back in our direction but at the last minute he swerved into a tree... He got out of the car with his arms open. I ran towards him to defend my father and I think I punched him in the face. People came to hold me back,” he said. Mr Spiteri said he started shouting for someone to call an ambulance because he was too agitated to dial the number.

“I spoke to my father. ‘You know who I am? Are you in pain?,’ I asked him.” His father replied that he knew who he was but did not know if he was in pain.

A man and his daughter, who was a nurse, went to their assistance. His father complained that the ground was too hot so he brought water from the van to wet the ground. Then the ambulance arrived and his father was taken to hospital.

Mr Spiteri said he suffered injuries to his right leg. Asked if he was taking any medication he said: “Not for my leg... Mentally... I’m not myself. I was always on the go. Now I’m at home all the time with my mother. I’m not in a good place mentally.”

Other witnesses took the stand yesterday and these included Joseph Asciak, who saw the incident from his apartment. He looked outside after hearing the sound of a car revving loudly.

“As I pulled the curtain back to have a look I saw a gentleman running and a car was behind him and within seconds... the car went over the top of him,” he said as he too wiped away tears.

I’m not in a good place mentally

“It’s the emotion of what I’ve seen... I can’t sleep... I have that vision in my eyes,” he said adding that he then went to assist the man with his daughter who was a nurse.

Police Inspector Bernard Spiteri said that after hearing about the incident he went to the Gozo hospital to find that John Spiteri was in a critical condition. He passed away that day at 8.30pm.

Mr Galea suffered serious injuries that included fractures to the face.

Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi, Kathleen Grima and Kevin Mompalao are representing Mr Galea while lawyer Joseph Giglio is representing the victim.

Police Inspectors Chris Pullicino and Bernard Spiteri are prosecuting.