The widow of soldier Lee Rigby left court in tears as jurors heard graphic accounts of how he was run over and attacked with a meat cleaver and knives.
Statements were read out in court by Prosecutor Richard Whittam QC from eyewitnesses to the Fusilier's alleged murder near Woolwich barracks in south east London on May 22.
Saraj Miah, who was seen in a CCTV clip talking with a local shopkeeper near the scene, said after Fusilier Rigby was run over, two armed men got out of the car. One of the two attackers pointed a gun at him when he told them not to kill the soldier.
TOP STORIES OF THE DAY
He said: "I thought that the two black men with knives were going to kill him. I told them not to kill him. They did not listen to me."
Fusilier Rigby's widow Rebecca left the oak-panelled courtroom in tears as the statements were read.
Shopkeeper Ibrahim Elidemir shut himself, his girlfriend and two customers inside his store when he saw one of the attackers brandishing a knife after the crash, the court heard.
Two men, Michael Adebolajo, 28, and Michael Adebowale, 22, are on trial at the Old Bailey for Fusilier Rigby's murder, which they deny. They are also accused of attempting to murder a police officer and conspiracy to murder a police officer.
Another witness Amanda Bailey, whose statement was also read by Whittam, described her shock at seeing the attack on the soldier, who she said looked "like a young man coming home from college".
Ms Bailey described one of the men trying to decapitate Fusilier Rigby.
"He was holding the cleaver in his right hand.
He was using a lot of force to hack at the young man's neck. The motion of his arm was that he was raising it up and bringing it down.
"I was so shocked all I could do was sit there and stare and what happened, I couldn't believe what was going on. He was determined and he wasn't going to stop. He didn't care. It was broad daylight and this man didn't care.
"The whole incident took about two minutes, but I can't be sure. It felt like a life time."
Gill Hucks said in her statement that she saw two men taking it in turns to stab the soldier.
She went to get out of her car near the scene but her passenger Gary Perkins said: "F***ing hell, that man is being stabbed".
Eyewitness Mr Perkins was the first person to give evidence in person.
Dressed in a black three-piece suit and patterned tie, Mr Perkins confirmed he was travelling in the same car as Ms Hucks.
Describing one of the weapons, Mr Perkins said: "It was like a larger butcher's cleaver."
James Henegan, who was driving his Citroen C3 at the scene, wiped away tears as Adebolajo's barrister David Gottlieb asked him was he aware "there was nothing he could have done to change what happened".
"Yes," he said.
"My client is very is very anxious that you should know that," Mr Gottlieb added.