Black teenager Stephen Lawrence was stabbed to death after a gang of white youths "swallowed" him up and shouted a racist remark, the Old Bailey has heard.
The 18-year-old student was stabbed twice and bled to death after two arteries were severed in the attack.
Mr Lawrence had been chased by the gang but became surrounded by them near a bus stop in Eltham, south-east London, in April 1993.
Mark Ellison QC, prosecuting, said: "One of the group was heard to say 'What, what n*****?' and at the same time the whole group rushed towards them."
Mr Lawrence's friend, Duwayne Brooks, managed to run off after shouting "Get up and run, Steve", the court heard.
But Mr Ellison continued: "Stephen Lawrence did not manage to get away. The group quickly surrounded him. One witness described that he was swallowed up by the weight of numbers and forced to the ground."
Medical evidence suggested one of the two stab wounds to his torso was when he was standing, the other when he was on the ground.
Gary Dobson, 36, and David Norris, 35, both of south London, deny the murder.
Mr Lawrence's parents, Doreen and Neville, sat feet away from the accused as the jury of eight men and four women was sworn in. Only one of the jurors was black. As the case was opened, Mr Lawrence left the court.
Mr Justice Treacy had earlier warned the jurors to ignore last week's television series The Jury in which a juror looked on the internet before reaching a verdict. He told them: "That was fiction, this is real life."