The prosecution has opened its case in the trial of a man accused of causing death by dangerous driving.

Jordan Thomas, aged 29, sustained catastrophic injuries following an incident on Harbour Road, Onchan, in February last year - and died in hospital eight days later.

Jackson Joseph Paul, 35, of Palace Road, Douglas, denies causing death by dangerous driving.

Prosecutor Roger Kane told the jury that Mr Paul had been behind the wheel of a BMW which had reversed and then accelerated forward as Mr Thomas lay on its bonnet.

The court heard that police attending Harbour Road at 7.45pm on the evening of Saturday February 25 last year saw a man lying on the ground in the middle of the road.

Mr Thomas, 29, was taken by ambulance to the emergency department at Noble’s Hospital before being transferred to Aintree Hospital in Liverpool.

There he sadly succumbed to his injuries on March 4.

The Court of General Gaol Delivery heard that two videos filmed on a mobile phone by the passenger in BMW are crucial to the understanding of the prosecution case and were ‘by far and away’ the most important evidence.

Mr Kane said the first would show Mr Thomas laid across the bonnet of the BMW on his stomach, pulling the windscreen wipers up and down. The car horn sounds and the car reverses with Mr Thomas still on the bonnet.

At the end of the video, the prosecutor said, Mr Thomas appears to invite the defendant to drive forward and can be heard saying ‘go, lad, go’.

The second video, Mr Kane told the jury, would show Mr Thomas laying across the windscreen facing the driver.

As the car moves forward, he slides down the windscreen and bonnet and then as the car brakes, he is propelled backwards onto the road, hitting his head on the ground.

The passenger is heard saying ‘slow, slow, slow’ followed by ‘no, no’.

Jurors heard that when interviewed the following day, Mr Paul told police that he had gone out for a drive with his flatmate when he saw a man standing between parked cars on Habour Road.

He said he had come to a stop and motioned to the man to cross the road. When he didn’t move, he claimed he attempted to go around him but said the man then got on to the bonnet.

He said the man had then stood on the bonnet and claimed he had started punching the windscreen and he feared he would punch his way into the car and assault him, the jury was told.

Mr Paul told officers he had panicked, the jury heard.

He had tried to put the automatic car into reverse but by accident it was in ‘drive’ and it had moved forward. He said he had then braked hard and didn’t foresee the risk that this would cause Mr Thomas to fall off the bonnet, the court was told.

Toxicology tests on Mr Thomas’s blood showed it did not have any substances in his system at the time apart aside over the counter and prescription medication.

A roadside breath test and drugs wipe on the defendant returned a negative result.

The prosecutor said the jury will hear from a witness who was travelling along Harbour Road minutes before and had seen a man standing by parked cars.

She thought he was trying to flag her down so had stopped but he had gestured her to carry on driving and had thrown himself onto the car bonnet. She immediately stopped and he had slid off but remained on his feet, the jury was told.

Mr Kane said the BMW driven by Mr Paul had reversed for about eight seconds before stopping and then accelerated forward for over 50m, through three gear changes, to a speed of about 32mph before Mr Thomas came off the vehicle.

Mr Kane put it to the jury that these actions were not ‘reasonable and proportionate’.

‘Reversing a vehicle, stopping and then accelerating from 0 to 30-plus mph, over the course of 50m, before braking hard, all while a human being is on the front of your car is dangerous driving. Of that there can be little doubt,’ he said.

He said there was no doubt Mr Thomas’ behaviour that night was ‘bizarre’ and ‘not normal or rational’.

‘You will hear that Jordan was suffering from some mental health issues at the time,’ he added. ‘Whether this contributed to his decision-making is unknown - was he looking for attention? Was he messing about? We simply don’t know.’

Deemster Graeme Cook told the seven members of the jury that the case involved the sad death of a young man and urged them to try to remove all emotion from their deliberations.

The trial, which is listed to last five days, continues.