Trial has begun for a teenager accused of inflicting grievous bodily harm on another teen in a multi-vehicle crash on South Shore Road, Warwick.

Jahni Holder, 19, of Ridgeway Road, Pembroke, admits driving a motorcycle without a licence or valid insurance on the night of November 9, 2012 but denies causing GBH while driving without a licence or insurance, and driving without due care.

A jury heard yesterday that Rashaun Zuill, 17, was unable to give evidence in court as he’s still being treated overseas more than a year later.

Zuill was part of a group of motorcycle riders heading towards the Ice Queen in Paget from the West End when the crash occurred near Marley Beach.

At that stretch of road, an oncoming vehicle hit Mr Zuill’s bike “dead-on”, according to fellow rider Makinday Johansen.

Mr Johansen, who said he was struck next, was among three riders who set out from Boaz Island, Sandys and headed east.

Mr Zuill joined the group near The Hitching Post in Somerset.

Estimating they were travelling around 40 to 45kph when they overtook a car near Astwood Park, Mr Johansen said Mr Zuill moved up to the front of the pack at that point.

“We were just past Astwood Cove when we heard a bike coming,” he said, adding: “After Astwood Cove I saw the headlights.”

He was unable to tell how far away the other vehicle was but maintained that the oncoming bike was “on our side of the road”.

Asked what he did next, Mr Johansen replied: “Just kept riding — it was coming fast.”

He told the jury the oncoming bike “hit Rashaun’s bike dead-on”, sending it spinning 360 degrees and throwing Mr Zuill to the roadside.

The other rider went “flying”, the witness said, and his vehicle struck Mr Johansen, who was carrying a pillion passenger.

“My passenger was holding on to me,” he said. “We slid into the bus layaway.”

After getting up, Mr Johansen said, he saw his passenger sitting in the bus area and the westbound rider “lying in the road”.

Mr Zuill was lying face down and seemed to be “not breathing”, he said. Mr Johansen parked his own bike in a driveway.

“By that time he started to come to,” he said. “I limped over to him. I was telling him ‘Don’t move, don’t move’. At that time the fire truck and ambulance had come.”

He said he’d been injured in the leg and shoulder and another rider in the group appeared to have been injured in the shoulder.

Defence lawyer Richard Horseman then quizzed Mr Johansen on his initial statement to police, which didn’t mention the presence of others and a second statement in which he said there was a group of five cycles. Mr Johansen agreed that number wasn’t correct.

However, he maintained he’d told police about the other riders with them at the time.

Asked if they’d chosen South Shore Road that night because there would be less traffic along the way, Mr Johansen told the court: “I would say that.”

The trial continues.