The jury trial for a Papamoa man accused of murdering a Russian national in a hit-and-run incident in Welcome Bay last year began in the Tauranga High Court this morning.

Raymond Green, 32, who has denied one count of murder, is accused of mowing down 33-year-old Ilya Olegovich Kojevnikov with his vehicle, as Mr Kojevnikov crossed Welcome Bay Rd about 11pm on February 2 last year.

The trial is presided over by Justice Christian Whata and is expected to take two weeks.