A man was stabbed in the chest so deeply in a road rage incident that the long blade almost came out of his back, a court heard yesterday.

The victim, David Azzopardi, 42, broke down in tears as he testified in the trial by jury of Stephen Pirotta, 39, of Luqa who stands charged with trying to kill him.

Mr Azzopardi recalled that as the knife pierced him, it felt like an ice cube entering his body - he could feel the 20-centimetre blade.

Doctors, he said, told him that had it entered just 12 millimetres deeper, it would have cut through his back.

Mr Azzopardi broke down in tears when the prosecutor asked him what he said to his girlfriend, Lorraine Nejjar, as he tried to drive to the hospital after being stabbed on September 28, 2005. He said he couldn't remember in the panic of the situation.

He said he had been to the opening of a wine bar in Rabat and was on his way back home to Sta Luċija when a white car driving behind him began hooting for him to move over.

Mr Azzopardi did so and the driver overtook him, hitting his mirror as he went past, but didn't stop.

The victim followed him up to the roundabout near Pavi supermarket, where the accused pulled over, walked to Mr Azzopardi's car, fiddled with the mirror and told him that there was no damage.

Mr Azzopardi replied that he had recorded his number plate and that if he found any more damage he would report him.

Mr Pirotta then ran back to his car, grabbed a knife and, as Mr Azzopardi tried to get out of his car, the accused stabbed him in the lower chest, the witness said. The victim then tried to drive to hospital but as he was passing through Ħamrun he lost consciousness and crashed into a pole.

The police had traced Mr Pirotta within the hour and knocked at his front door but there was no answer. So they kicked the door in and found him asleep.

In his statement to the police, Mr Pirotta immediately admitted to stabbing the victim.

He said he was a father of four and had been having problems with his wife and as a result had been drinking more than usual.

Before the incident he remembered drinking around four beers and a bottle of wine. As they argued he saw Mr Azzopardi crouch down and his first thought was that he was going to grab a pistol. So he ran up to him and stabbed him before he could be attacked.

Alexia Abela, a doctor, testified that the entry wound was 4.3 centimetres long. The blade entered the chest above the eighth rib, went through the left lung and the diaphragm and penetrated five centimetres into the liver.

The trial continues.

Lawyers Anġlu and Caroline Farrugia appeared for the accused.