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A jury at a High Court murder trial will have to decide whether the accused man intended to injure the victim when he drove his car into a brawl.
Prestman Vesiputa Tauira, 26, a sandblaster of Mangere, is standing trial in the High Court at Auckland for the murder of Faafetai Lafolua in Otahuhu, South Auckland, on August 18 last year.
Mr Lafolua, a 24-year-old father of three, got into a fight when attending a vigil at a shrine erected to Haruru Pekepo, a teenager shot dead a month beforehand. Mr Lafolua was then struck by a car and dragged underneath it for 2.4km.
Tauira's lawyer, Richard Earwaker, said in a brief opening address that his client did not dispute he was driving the car which struck Mr Lafolua.
But he said Tauira disputed the Crown's assertion that he deliberately drove into the victim, saying that he was trying to distract the fighters so that a friend would get out of it.
He said he then drove on because he was fearful for his safety and that he did not know Mr Lafolua was trapped under the car.
"The defence position is that this was a terrible, terrible, tragic accident," Mr Earwaker said.
Crown prosecutor Kevin Glubb said Mr Lafolua's death was a tragic but utterly avoidable consequence of street violence.
"This was a deliberate, brutal and sustained assault," he told the jury in his opening address yesterday.
Mr Glubb said the victim was at the vigil for Mr Pekepo with several friends when a fight broke out with people from another group they did not know, who were in three cars driving past.
He said three people got out of the car driven by Tauira, who then went up Awa St before turning his car around between 75m and 100m from the brawl.
After watching what had become a serious fight, Tauira drove his car at Mr Lafolua, who was standing on the road, Mr Glubb said.
Mr Lafolua became trapped under the car, after which several of his friends approached Tauira, Mr Glubb said. One friend started to hit Tauira and told him Mr Lafolua was under the car but he then drove off.
The car eventually turned left into Great South Rd with Mr Lafolua still under the car. He did not come free until near Mt Richmond Domain, after which Tauira drove off, Mr Glubb said.
Emergency services were on the scene shortly afterwards and Mr Lafolua was declared dead at the scene. A post-mortem found he died of head injuries caused by being hit and dragged by the car. Mr Glubb said the jury would have to decide whether Tauira intended to kill Mr Lafolua or was prepared to run the risk of an assault with the car which he knew could kill him.
Tauira, who was dressed in a blue checked shirt and black trousers, quietly said not guilty when asked to plead.
The trial before Justice Christopher Allan and a jury of eight women and four men began yesterday and is expected to continue for at least two weeks.
Mr Glubb said the Crown would present evidence from about 52 witnesses. Evidence would also include a police video interview with Tauira and a video shot at the fight scene by one of the participants.
He said the incident was unrelated to the death of Mr Pekepo. Earlier this month, one person admitted a murder charge and two others admitted other charges related to Mr Pekepo's death.
- NZPA
