The ACT Supreme Court has heard two expert investigators presenting differing opinions on how fast a driver may have been going when he crashed into a tree, causing fatal injuries to his 16-year-old girlfriend.
Ameen Hamdan, who was 18 at the time of the accident in 2020, has been charged with culpable driving causing death and culpable driving causing grievous bodily harm.
Alexis Saaghy, 16, suffered catastrophic head and internal injuries.
She later died in hospital.
One of the back-seat passengers suffered a broken arm and internal injuries, while Mr Hamdan suffered an eye injury and was very dazed after the crash, police said.
The court heard Mr Hamdan had his probationary licence for five months at the time of the accident.
The jury heard he had been driving his friends between different homes on the night of the crash and was taking one of them home when the accident occurred.
The court also heard evidence the ute hit one gutter, veered across the road and drove over the opposite one before hitting a tree.
Jury told man had been 'drifting' prior to crash
Prosecutor Soraya Saikal-Skea told the jury that in the lead-up to the crash, Mr Hamdan had been drifting while he was driving.
The jury saw a video taken shortly before on Ms Saaghy's phone which shows Mr Hamdan calling himself "Ameen Hamdan, drift king" with the song Tokyo Drift in the background.
Ms Saikal-Skea told the jury one of the things the case will come down to is whether Mr Hamdan was speeding.
A police expert told the court Mr Handan was travelling at between 80 and 100 kilometres per hour.
But today, an expert called by the defence, Nigel McDonald, had a different view.
"It was likely to be around 50, around the speed limit."
Mr McDonald challenged the calculations made by the police about where and how the car had slid across the road and eventually hit the tree.
Earlier, the court heard from the two back-seat passengers who said they heard Mr Hamdan swear as the car began to slide.
One said he had thought it might have been a kangaroo, but admitted he had not seen one.
The court has also heard from a police officer who was first on the scene and helped Mr Hamdan out of the car.
He said he had an injury to his eye and appeared confused and could not answer basic questions about his girlfriend in the front seat.
"He said, 'What girl?'"
The trial will continue tomorrow.
