KEY POINTS:
A jury at the High Court at Auckland has heard how a mob of men chased a man and punched and kicked him until he fell down in the middle of a road, after they saw him beating up another man.
The evidence was given at the murder
trial of Darin Joseph Gardner, 25.
Gardner is charged with murdering 19-year-old Kane Wright and Melissa Viall, 23, and faces two charges of intent to cause grievous bodily harm and injuring with intent.
The Crown says Gardner twice drove at a group of people fighting on a Pakuranga street on October 8 last year, killing Ms Viall, an early childhood teacher, immediately.
Mr Wright died the next day.
Anton Degraaff, who was beaten by the mob, is charged with injuring with intent to injure with James Rixon.
The Crown argues Degraaff was one of three men involved in a confrontation with a group of three friends, including Miss Viall, about 2.30am on October 8, which left Nigel Burson unconscious.
Degraaff was chased by a group of men who saw the fight, who caught him then left him beaten on the road.
Defence lawyers for Gardner say he drove a car at a group of people in a bid to disperse the crowd and then again to retrieve his hurt friend, Degraaff, from the road.
Stephen Reid, from Auckland, a former work colleague of Degraaff, told the court yesterday he saw about seven or eight Polynesian men chasing after Degraaff.
"They seemed pretty determined to get towards him."
The men followed Degraaff to the highway and chased him back and forth, he said.
"They were still punching and kicking him."
Mr Reid told the court Degraaff was being kicked by a number of people at once as he lay on the ground, which went on for sometime.
The kicking stopped when the car ploughed through the group of people, he said.
Earlier Savanna Randle broke down as she described the moment she saw Miss Viall hit by the car, sending her flying through the air.
Ms Randle said she had witnessed the first fight between five people and heard one man say "that's what you get when you mess with us" after Mr Burson had been punched and kicked to the ground.
The man walked past her and was "aggressive and pumped up".
At that point a group of about five Polynesian men jumped over a fence and started chasing one of the men to a petrol station forecourt, she said.
The man removed his shirt and yelled at the men "bring it on" as the Polynesian men approached him, she said.
Ms Randle said the man told the group "I can take you all on".
A huge brawl followed, leaving the man beaten up on the ground. A car then went through the crowd of people, hitting some people and then returned, she said.
The trial continues tomorrow.
- NZPA
