A man thought he was going to be killed after his car was rammed and he was stabbed twice in the early hours of the morning in Ballarat this year.
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The man was stabbed in the side of his torso, piercing his ribs, and in his back, causing a punctured lung.
"I got out of (the car) as quickly as I could because I thought they were going to kill me," the man said.
Three men charged over the May 22 ramming and stabbing faced the online Ballarat Magistrates' Court on Thursday for a contested committal hearing.
Police allege Corey Blazevicious, 18, Brody Harris, 21, Jarrod Cakebread, 21, and Bryce Stephens, 23, stole a white Ford Ranger twin-cab from a Canadian Lakes property in the early hours of the morning.
It is alleged Harris was driving when he performed a u-turn after he spotted a man in another vehicle and said, "that person owes me money".
Harris then allegedly hit the victim's vehicle at high speed before Blazevicious and Cakebread exited the Ranger, according to Stephens who was giving evidence for the prosecution case.
Stephens said he was trying to get out of the vehicle but his leg was caught on the seat belt and Harris told him, "don't do it Bryce", and the pair stayed in the vehicle.
The alleged victim's airbags deployed which made it difficult for him to see the men, the alleged victim told the court.
"I only saw one person and that was the person who stabbed me. The others had their faces covered," the alleged victim said.
He said he jumped from the driver's seat into the back seat to try and get away from the alleged stabber, who was in the front passenger seat.
The alleged victim initially told a police detective while he was recovering in hospital, he thought the man who stabbed him was Riley Green because "that's what I thought at the time".
He said he then saw a Crime Stoppers image via Facebook showing a man police were looking for and he received messages from other people who told him, "this is the guy who stabbed you".
The alleged victim agreed he sent text messages to Cakebread while he was in hospital and he could not provide a description of the men other than Mr Green.
Stephens told the court Blazevicious returned to the Ranger in less than five minutes and there was a conversation about him stabbing someone.
Stephens said Blazevicious told them, "I stabbed him, I stabbed him" and he was asked, "really?" to which he replied, "yes, yes".
"He did say he swore on his mum's life he done it," Stephens said.
Stephens, who has only been charged with stealing the Ford Ranger, told the court he and the three co-accused were drug-affected on the night of the incident.
At one point during Stephens' evidence against the three accused, Cakebread held up a piece of paper with 'dog' handwritten on it.
Defence barrister John Desmond, for Blazevicious, put to Stephens the police detectives fed him a story because that's what they wanted to hear to which Stephens firmly replied, "no, I didn't."
Cakebread's barrister, Jennifer McGarvie, suggested her client did not get out of the twin-cab Ranger because it would not have been possible, but Stephens said Cakebread jumped over him to exit the vehicle.
Police informant Detective Senior Constable Andrew Barnes said another detective told him Blazevicious, Harris and Cakebread were suspects and the trio were captured on CCTV arriving at a woman's house after the alleged incident.
The stolen white Ford Ranger used in the alleged ramming was later located burnt-out and contained a kitchen knife.
Blazevicious, Cakebread and Harris have been charged with a string of offences including car theft, robbing a woman armed with a knife, reckless conduct endangering serious injury and reckless conduct endangering life.
They pleaded not guilty to the charges and were committed to stand trial in the County Court at Ballarat.
Magistrate Ron Saines said he was satisfied there was evidence of sufficient weight for a jury to find the accused guilty of the charges.
Blazevicious, Cakebread and Harris will face a directions hearing in February in the County Court at Ballarat.
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