Furious Magistrate Edward King stormed out of the lower court yesterday morning during a verbal confrontation with Crown counsel Juan Wolffe over the prosecutor?s line of questioning of a witness in the Melanie Wedgwood trial.

Wedgwood, 43, is charged with driving without due care and attention after an accident on a pedestrian crossing in St. Mary?s Road in which six-year-old Tyeisha Cox (pictured) died on August 7, 2003.

Prior to the verbal confrontation, Mr. Wolffe had asked witness Vincent Darrell, at what speed two other cars were travelling behind the jeep that had hit Tyeisha.

He was interrupted by Mr. King who ruled the question could not be asked as it was not an issue raised in cross examination by Wedgwood?s lawyer, Saul Froomkin.

?I say it is not relevant. No further discussion. You should sit down!? Mr. King shouted.

But Mr. Wolffe remained standing, shouting that he would not.

At this point a tired and frustrated Mr. King stormed out of the court room.

The atmosphere between Mr. King and Mr. Wolffe was tense at the start of proceedings yesterday morning and progressively got worse. Mr. King told Mr. Wolffe to behave himself numerous times during the morning session.

However, following a short break, both returned to court and the trial continued as if nothing had happened.

Mr. Darrell, the curator at Purvis Primary School in Warwick, was the first eyewitness to be called by the Crown in the case against Wedgwood.

Prior to the heated exchange, Mr. Darrell had given a tearful statement recounting how he had seen Tyeisha and her brother leave the bus that morning and cross the road.

He had been standing at the opposite bus stop waiting for children to arrive for the summer camp which was taking place at the school.

He said he could make out two pairs of small feet starting to cross the pedestrian crossing in front of the bus. This bus stop lies right behind a pedestrian crossing to the school.

Mr. Darrell said he glanced back and saw the jeep had pulled out next to the bus to overtake and saw the driver lean over to see if there was any oncoming traffic.

He said the jeep was parallel with him and he saw the driver pick up speed as she continued to pass the bus.

?I heard a thump coming from the pedestrian crossing,? a visibly shaken Mr. Darrell said.

He took a few moment to compose himself before describing how Tyeisha was hit by the jeep and he then saw ?something roll under the wheels of the jeep?.

?It looked like a baby doll to me,? a sobbing Mr. Darrell told the court. At the back of the courtroom Tyeisha?s mother and great-aunt were crying and leaning against each other for support. With his head down and clutching the witness box, Mr. Darrell said he realised the jeep had hit the little girl and described how he ran to the front of the bus and saw Tyeisha lying on the ground.

He said the jeep continued down St. Mary?s Road and eventually came to a stop, but up to that point he had never seen any brake lights.

?The driver did not get out right away, but when she did she walked slowly to the accident. I heard her say the little girl had run out into the road and I told her it was not true, the girl was never running,? he said.

Mr. Darrell needed a break at this point and left the courtroom crying.

Wedgwood, who had sat with a straight, almost emotionless face listening to his evidence, finally dropped her head to her one hand and rubbed her temples.

Another eyewitness to give evidence was bus driver Alvin Outerbridge who was driving the bus that Tyeisha and her brother had disembarked from moments before the accident.

He described how he had looked in the right-hand mirror and seen the jeep passing the bus while Tyeisha and her brother were still crossing the pedestrian crossing in front of the bus.

?I blew my horn to warn them to stop and the boy glanced up at me and basically stopped. But the young girl was maybe a step ahead of him and that?s when the jeep hit her,? he said.

Mr. Outerbridge, who had dropped his head in an effort to compose himself, continued to tell the court how Tyeisha?s brother had run to where she lay about 20 feet in front of the bus.

Under cross-examination by Mr. Froomkin, Mr. Darrell denied ever having told, or indicated to the children that the road was clear and they could cross safely.

?That?s why I honked ? to warn them to stop,? he said.

The driver of the car directly behind the jeep that day, Lynette Mills, told the court later how she had seen Tyeisha?s head, with pink ribbons in her hair, come out the front of the bus seconds before the jeep hit her.

She described how she had seen Tyeisha?s brother run out to where his sister lay in the road and shout ?get up Ty, get up!? while he tried to pull her to her feet.

Ms Mills told the court the driver of the jeep walked over to where Tyeisha lay and said she ?always overtook the bus? and had not seen little girl who had ?come out of nowhere?.

Ms Mills? passenger that day, Beverly Allen, told the court that when the car stopped, she jumped out and ran home terrified because she knew ?the outcome would not be a good one?.

A tearful Ms Allen told the court she had returned to the scene with a blanket and some ice, but the ambulance had already arrived and was taking Tyeisha to hospital.

The case continues today.