A driver who killed a pregnant mum and her father after hitting a family of five returned to the scene to retrieve drugs from his car, a court heard.

Nitesh Bissendary was under the influence of cocaine when his black Alfa Romeo mounted the pavement in Leopold Street, Ramsgate, killing mum-of-two Noga Sella, 37, and her 81-year-old father Yoram Hirshfeld, it is alleged.

Today, a jury at Canterbury Crown Court was told Bissendary initially fled the scene, before returning to his vehicle with his parents and climbing back in to get his drugs - while Mrs Sella was still trapped underneath.

The tragedy unfolded outside a multi-storey car park at about 9.30pm on August 10, when the family - who were visiting from Cambridge - were returning to their hotel following a meal.

Eyewitnesses described hearing “crunching noises and screaming”, prosecutor Nina Ellin explained, which prompted people to rush to the scene.

Emergency services then discovered Mrs Sella's body underneath the abandoned car. She was pronounced dead at the scene, having suffered multiple injuries and features of “traumatic asphyxia”.

Mr Hirshfeld suffered a cardiac arrest inside an ambulance and was pronounced dead at 11.40pm.

The crash also left Mrs Sella's husband Omer, 40, with a lacerated spleen and five-year-old daughter with a life-threatening head injury.

The couple's eight-year-old son suffered shock and minor injuries.

Bissendary, of Highlands Glade, Manston, previously pleaded guilty to two counts of causing death by careless driving but denies more serious charges of causing death by dangerous driving.

He also denies two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

However, he has admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm, failing to provide a sample for analysis and possession with intent to supply cocaine, a Class A drug.

Today, Ms Ellin said the fault of the collision was entirely the defendant's, and entirely avoidable.

She said in the aftermath of the crash, Bissendary phoned his parents who promptly picked him up in their red Mercedes by Cliff Street, and then parked near Military Road.

The trio then walked towards the crime scene as emergency services fought to save the family's lives, she explained.

With Noga still trapped underneath the car, Bissendary could be seen then climbing back inside the vehicle, before exiting.

Ms Ellin argued he was drug-dealing at the time of the crash and wanted evidence removed from his Alfa Romeo.

After the three were arrested, police soon discovered 8.4g of cocaine concealed inside the parents’ Mercedes, the prosecutor added.

Bissendary argues he crashed following a “momentary lapse in concentration to resolve a clutch issue,” Suriner Singh Gohlan, defending, told the court.

In a police interview, Bissendary told officers he “didn’t intentionally drive into people - the car just veered to the left”.

He claimed there was an issue with a wheel, before making no comment to further questions.

While held in custody, Bissendary made a number of phone calls claiming he reached into the footwell to resolve an issue with a faulty clutch, the court heard.

Suriner Singh Gohlan, defending, told jurors the crash happened following a “momentary lapse” in Bissendary’s concentration to resolve the problem.

But Ms Ellin said although a fault had been logged with the RAC, it had not contributed to the crash.

“It does not provide him with any excuse,” Ms Ellin said.

“His response to it, by leaning into the footwell, so that he couldn’t see the road was, by definition, dangerous.

“When the clutch first stuck as he turned into Leopold Street, if that is what it did, all he had to do was put on the brakes.”

The court heard PC Joanne Fordyce noticed Bissendary, his father Barjunsing and mother Sadhana watching the aftermath unfold shortly after the crash.

When she asked Bissendary to give a specimen of breath, he refused, before claiming he had lost his phone.

Jurors heard that after PC Fordyce cautioned Bissendary, he replied: “The car just veered to the left, the tyre went flat, I don’t remember after that, everything just smashed - everything went black,” prosecutors said.

“I literally pulled to the left, and I panicked and I jumped out because everything in front of me exploded, I didn’t know what to do, then I run [sic] back.”

Ms Ellin said Bissendary was driving the Alfa Romeo when it collided with the family on the pavement, where it "quite clearly" should not have been.

"The very fact the vehicle mounted the kerb showed the defendant was not controlling his vehicle as a competent and careful driver should do," she continued.

"He did not take any avoiding action as his vehicle approached the family."

In addition, the prosecutor said his judgement was impaired by his use of illegal drugs, particularly cocaine.

"In short, the Crown say his driving was dangerous - in other words it fell far below the standard of a careful and competent driver," Ms Ellin said.

The prosecutor added “there is no dispute that this defendant was the driver of the vehicle,” with Bissendary having admitted he was behind the wheel.

The trial continues.