The husband of Qawra hit and run victim Elizabeth Whilems this afternoon described in court how the car which hit and killed his wife 'came out of nowehere'.

He gave evidence during the arraignment of Mel Spiteri, 18 of Birkirkara, who was accused of the involuntary homicide of Elizabeth Tucknutt Whilems, 77 on Sunday at about 10.45 p.m.

He was also accused of having failed to stop, driving without a licence and insurance, leaving the scene of a crime, failing to drive slowly near a zebra crossing and driving at excessive speed.

He pleaded not guilty.

The victim's husband, Maurice, 78, said that on the night in question he was crossing the road with his wife right in front of the hotel where they were staying.

Three to four cars passed and then when they saw no cars approaching, they decided to cross the road.

All of a sudden, when he had reached the middle of the road, with his wife   one pace in front of him, there was "a burst of headlights" and he heard a loud noise.

The car, he said, came out of nowhere and was going so fast he did not even see it. He then turned towards his wife and saw her body 30 to 40 metres up the road.

Mr Whilems said he and his wife had been coming to Malta for the past 40 years and had been staying at the Qawra Palace for the past 10 to 12 years.

Mr Whilems insisted that the road was well lit and they had looked in both directions before crossing.

After the incident, he was taken to the hotel and helped by a doctor, who later gave him the sad news about his wife.

He said he noted splatters of his wife's blood on his left shoulder, but he was not injured.

In cross examination, he said there were two zebra crossing, one 150 metres away and another some 40 metres away. During the day they used to use the zebra crossing because there were a lot of cars. They had not used the zebra crossing on the evening because the hotel was right opposite and at that time of night there were hardly any cars.

A witness, Brian Joseph Mortimer, a tourist from Liverpool, said he had been sitting outside the Qawra Palace Hotel when the incident happened. The car that was involved in the incident stood out because of its 'erratic speed'.

The car, he said, was doing at least 50mph.

He said that on the night, in his opinion, the road was not well lit.

He said he saw the victim somersault over the car and ran over to her. "It was not a pretty sight," he said.

Magistrate Myriam Hayman turned down a request for bail.

Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri were counsel for the accused.