A Birmingham man was knocked down and killed by a car driven by his sister's boyfriend after they had been drinking Jägerbombs together at a family birthday party, a court has heard. Martin O'Donovan, 47, died following the incident on Stonyhurst Road in Woolton, Liverpool, in April.
Liverpool Crown Court was told that relatives had joked that Mr O'Donovan and Stephen Bates, 42, had developed a 'bromance' after meeting for the first time at the celebration for their mother's 70th birthday. However, the pair later fought after Bates became intoxicated.
Bates, of Herondale Road, Mossley Hill, Liverpool, is on trial accused of murder. He left the scene after the fight but returned in his Ford Fiesta and is alleged to have deliberately driven at Mr O'Donovan.
In video evidence played to the court, Mr O'Donovan's sister, Susanne Lewzey, described how the evening turned from a happy gathering to tragedy. She said Bates became 'very drunk' and was 'starting to get on people's nerves'. After she ordered him an Uber, a fight broke out between the two men.
Ms Lewzey said her sister drove Bates away in his car, but he later returned. She told the court: 'Within a split second, my brother had jumped up... He went to hit him, stopped, turned and just ran him straight full over... I could see my brother face down under his car. He was still revving it, trying to carry on.'
Bates denies murder but has pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter. The trial, before Judge Neil Flewitt KC, continues.
