Neighbours turned away a screaming woman moments before her former partner attacked her with a machete in the middle of an Ipswich street, a Brisbane court has heard.

Giving evidence at the Supreme Court, witness Dianne Farley described how the distressed woman went to two homes after Muhumed Samow Ali allegedly rammed the victim's car on September 10, 2015.

Ali, 52, is fighting charges of attempted murder and intending to cause grievous bodily harm, but has pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and being armed in public.

Ms Farley said she was in her home on Monterey Street in Wacol and headed outside when she heard the crash.

"He was dragging her out of the car, and she was out of the car, and she started going into different places screaming," Ms Farley said.

She said residents of the first home told the woman to go away, and at the next house, "she was told to get off the property".

Ms Farley told the court the man was following the woman when she tripped over her dress on the road.

She said the man was holding an object — later identified to be a machete — and struck the woman on the back of the head with a downward swing.

Ms Farley said she dragged the injured woman to her garage and locked her in a car to keep her safe.

Ms Farley's son Michael said Ali then approached the garage.

"He was demanding her back," Mr Farley said.

Woman left with fractured skull

Former Princess Alexandra Hospital doctor Jae Woo Park, who treated the woman's injuries, said she suffered a 6-centimetre deep cut to the back of the head.

Dr Park said she also suffered a fracture to her skull, and that the injuries were consistent with force from a blunt object.

On Monday, the court was told the woman was driving from a train station when the accused drove towards her vehicle and smashed into it head-on.

Witnesses said Ali then grabbed the machete and set after the woman.

The court heard other residents used wheelie bins to push Ali away as he attacked his ex-partner.

Several members of the Somali community were in court to support Ali, who has enlisted a translator for the case.

Prosecutors finished calling witnesses on Tuesday afternoon, and Ali's lawyer Ben Power said his client would not be calling or giving evidence.

Barristers from both sides will make their closing remarks on Wednesday before Justice Roslyn Atkinson sums up the case and asks the jury to consider its verdict.