‘The Officer Was Mowed Down, I Didn’t See Him Any More’: Teen Witness Details Brutal Luqa Hit-And-Run
A female teenager who witnessed the moment Liam Debono ran over police constable Simon Schembri has testified via video conference in court about the shocking moment.
“The officer was mowed down. I didn’t see him any more. I saw something fly, it was a glove which someone picked up later,” she said in court proceedings. She then said she called 112 for assistance.
The latest testimony comes as the case against Liam Debono, the 17-year-old Maltese teenager who brutally hit and ran over police constable Simon Schembri, continued Wednesday morning.
She described what happened in Luqa on the morning of May 15th in detail
During her testimony, the Maltese teenager painted a picture of how the events happened. She said that Schembri had signaled to a Merdeces that was behind him to stop, and he dismounted his police motorcycle. As he approached the car he listed the visor on his helmet, and asked the driver, Liam Debono, for his ID card. Debono refused by shaking his head.
Schembri returned to his motorcycle and spoke on the radio for a bit. When he returned to the Mercedes, he saw that the Mercedes was beginning to drive forward slowly.
Schembri raised his arms and attempted to tell the driver to stop whereupon Debono sped up and ran over PC Schembri, dragging him underneath the Mercedes.
Liam Debono
Members of the Rapid Intervention Unit were called to testify about Liam Debono
Sergeant Christopher Debrincat from the RIU had asked Debono: “Do you know you might have killed him?”, referring to Schembri.
“He replied with ‘heqq, m’hemmx xtaghmel’ (Heqq, nothing can be done),” said sergeant Debrincat of Debono’s reply.
Liam Debono was also asked whether he had felt the body of Simon Schembri under his car as he attempted to escape. Debono said that he had felt Schembri’s body under his car, and had tried to swerve left and then right to attempt to dislodge the body.
Police constable Luke Ciangura from the RIU, who had been on duty that morning of the hit-and-run, said: “He showed no remorse.”
Simon Schembri and his daughter Leah
Magistrate Joe Mifsud has said that there is enough evidence for the teenager to stand trial
He stands accused of the attempted murder of Simon Schembri after the brutal hit-and-run in May. Schembri, 48, had to have an arm amputated below the elbow and suffered critical injuries, including a collapsed lung and severe burns that left the bones of his rib cage exposed, as a result of the attack.
He has since recovered and received a standing ovation from the Malta Police Force when he exited Mater Dei. He is now slated to get a bionic arm from the government, the first of its kind in Malta.
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