The girlfriend of a County Durham man's alleged killer has told a jury how her boyfriend drove straight at him and pinned him against a petrol station shop.
Alexis Prest said Daniel Ambler had no time to get out of the way before Ashton Anderson deliberately smashed into him in his 4x4.
The teenager told Teesside Crown Court she was shocked by her boyfriend’s actions and had blanked out most of what happened.
Members of the Anderson family, including Barry and his sons Ashton and Logan, attacked Mr Ambler at a Seaham bus stop, as reported in the case involving five people accused of murdering Daniel Ambler.
Ashton, 20, chased Mr Ambler and attacked him with a hammer or crowbar.
The jury heard that Ashton got back into his Nissan and deliberately drove at Mr Ambler as he crossed the forecourt.
Miss Prest said: “He (Ashton Anderson) drove up towards the garage at speed, saw Daniel Ambler and hit him with his car.
“They all jumped out and ran. I was sort of stuck in the car and had to climb over the driver’s seat to get out.
Esso New Seaham Service Station, Seaham
“They all ran towards the Mallard pub while I ran the other way and called my mam to ask her to pick me up.”
In a police-recorded interview, she said: “Ashton went straight into him”.
She said Daniel had “moved left to get out of the way”, but the car still hit him.
Miss Prest told police she was scared by the incident.
“I didn’t want to be there, I had no intentions in being involved in any of it, I was scared”, she said.
She said Ashton and his two friends, Ajay Henry and Tyler Leadbetter, got out of the car and ran off, leaving Mr Ambler for dead.
A forensic officer working at the scene on Saturday (January 17).
Andrew Nabbs, who worked in the Esso garage, told the jury how he saw the Nissan drive straight at Mr Ambler as he walked across the forecourt.
He said Mr Ambler was pinned between the car and shelves outside the garage.
Mr Nabbs described Mr Ambler as ‘bent like a banana’, with no sign of life.
The jury heard that the bitter feud between the families began when Barry Anderson was stabbed in August last year.
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Mr Ambler’s brother David and his friend Jed Wilson fought Barry Anderson, 52, who was stabbed in the struggle.
Barry Anderson, 52, of Canon Cockin Street, Sunderland; Ashton Anderson, 20, of Ryton Crescent, Seaham; and Barry Logan Anderson, 19, of Nursery View, Shotton Bank, face murder and violent disorder charges, as detailed in the report on the Daniel Ambler murder trial.
Ajay Henry, of Melrose Crescent, Seaham, and Tyler Leadbetter, of Elgin Avenue, Seaham, were both 17 when they were charged with murder, and were later named as the two Seaham teenagers charged with Daniel Ambler’s murder.
The trial is expected to last up to five weeks, with proceedings taking place at Teesside Crown Court.