Rainer Mader, 42, was crushed against a pick-up truck.

A German man who “loved Malta” was killed on the first day of his holiday in a harrowing hit-and-run accident along Tower Road in Sliema.

The incident, which took place a few metres away from the Preluna Hotel where he was staying, was witnessed by passers-by who saw a black VW Golf car crush Rainer Mader, 42, against a parked pick-up truck.

The loud bang was followed by screams of “don’t look, don’t look”, referring to the gruesome scene where Mr Mader lay dead.

The Golf driver, a 36-year-old from Żurrieq who sources named as Mario Gatt, had allegedly hit another car parked at the top of Bisazza Street but kept on driving towards Il-Pjazzetta where he swerved into the pick-up truck.

Driver Mario Gatt at the scene yesterday. Photo: Paul Spiteri Lucas

He stopped briefly after hitting Mr Mader then drove off and was apprehended further down Tower Road, according to sources.

The police allegedly found cannabis resin in the car. Mr Gatt is due to be arraigned tomorrow.

The owner of the car involved in the first incident said she had parked her Peugeot at the top of Bisazza Street to drop something off at one of the shops.

Just as she was returning, she heard a bang and saw her car move forward. She realised someone had crashed into her Peugeot and driven off.

Luckily, pedestrians had taken note of the number plate but the commotion did not stop there. She soon heard shouting coming from Pjazzetta, where the burly German had been killed on the spot.

Still under shock, the truck driver told this newspaper he had just parked and was going to get out of his vehicle to visit his grandma when the Golf hit the back of the pick-up.

The force of the impact turned his vehicle some 45 degrees and pushed it up the pavement into a wall. When he got out he saw Mr Mader lying motionless on the road, his leg mangled and covered in blood.

German had been coming on holiday for 10 years

Mr Mader is this year’s second road accident victim. The 42-year-old German, who has been visiting the island for nearly a decade, had arrived on Sunday evening for a two-week stay.

Rainer Mader with his Maltese friend Paul Galea.

“He had many Maltese friends and loved Malta, especially our cuisine,” Paul Galea told this newspaper. Mr Galea had met Mr Mader when he visited an exhibition of the Association of Model Engineers Malta.

Eventually, he joined the association and yesterday Carl Mifsud, committee secretary, said Mr Mader was “a great scale modeller, a wonderful friend, and he loved the country and the Maltese...We will miss him”.

At the time of the incident Mr Mader was carrying magazines related to the military and scale modelling – they yesterday lay scattered by his lifeless body, where they had fallen.

One of Mr Mader’s latest models was that of an Austin Tilly used by Maltese vegetable hawkers, Mr Galea said.

I will never forget Rainer’s particular smile and look in his eyes

He added that, when he exhibited some of his own models in Germany, Mr Mader always included the Maltese flag in the display.

Mr Mader, who was single, has been visiting Malta at least twice a year – once to attend the AME exhibition and once to hang out “with the many Maltese friends he had”.

“I will never forget Rainer’s particular smile and look in his eyes. He was a genuine person who wished people well wherever he went,” he added.

Another Maltese friend he met through his modelling hobby, Alan Camilleri, described Mr Mader as a “rare friend”.

“It is difficult to find a friend as honest and genuine as Rainer. On Saturday I sent him best wishes for his trip here and told him to give me a call when he gets here so we could go out for a drink.

“Sadly, I never received that call. Everyone is shocked by the news,” Mr Camilleri, who has known him for eight years, said.

Mr Mader, who usually visited on his own, would stay at the Preluna Hotel, where he was well known among those who worked there as a very friendly person who always brought German chocolates and sweets for the staff.

The man’s parents are expected to fly to Malta between today and tomorrow.

Duty magistrate Neville Camilleri held an onsite inquiry and appointed court experts to assist him in the investigation.