KEY POINTS:
A witness to an illegal street race saw two pairs of headlights racing toward him and watched as, in a split second, Mt Maunganui 20-year-old Scott Finn was hit by one of the cars, flung into the air and killed.
Joshua Zajac, 18, yesterday told of gathering with
other "car enthusiasts" to participate in street racing on an industrial cul-de-sac at the Mount in the early hours of May 19.
Mr Zajac was testifying at a depositions hearing in the Tauranga Youth Court for one of two drivers charged with Mr Finn's manslaughter.
The 16-year-old defendant, who cannot be named because of his age, was allegedly racing the car that hit Mr Finn and has denied the charge.
The other driver, 19-year-old Jeffrey Douglas Luke, pleaded guilty on Tuesday and is awaiting sentence.
The 16-year-old allegedly drove to a petrol station some distance away after Mr Finn was killed and then returned to the scene of the race and spoke to police, but said nothing about his involvement in the race.
He was on a restricted licence and driving his father's Honda Integra.
Luke had a full licence and was driving a Mitsubishi Galant VR4.
The fatal collision happened as the two cars were nearing the finish of the race, after racing to the end of the cul-de-sac and turning around.
Mr Zajac, who had earlier participated in the racing, told the court the Galant was swerving as it approached because it was beating the Honda.
He said Mr Finn, who he knew by the nickname Fatty, was talking to the passengers of a Mitsubishi Libero parked on the roadside.
"I remember Scott leaning down to the window, just seeing him flying through the air [as he was hit]," Mr Zajac said.
He agreed that the collision happened in a split second and estimated the Galant's speed at between 80km/h and 100km/h, despite saying it was slowing down.
Mr Zajac described the race formats, saying there were only two cars in each race, but two types of races - one with a single starter who signalled the cars to start and they "burned off", and the second with two starters who gave a rolling start.
The two starters would stand about 10m apart, the cars driving in first gear until they passed the second starter, where they would "floor it".
