"History will be kind to us, because we will write it"
A woman has died and another injured after being hit by a vehicle while crossing the road outside The Canberra Hospital this afternoon (Thursday, May 3).
The vehicle, a red Toyota Camry station wagon, had been called in to ACT Policing Operations earlier by an off duty AFP member after the vehicle was seen driving erratically and collided with another vehicle in Hughes.
The vehicle fled the scene and was spotted by a Woden patrol crew on Yamba Drive, running a red light and hitting pedestrians who were crossing the intersection at Bateson Road at around 4.45pm.
One woman has died at the scene. The other woman sustained injuries and is in a stable condition at The Canberra Hospital.
The 24-year-old driver was apprehended by police and taken to The Canberra Hospital where he is assisting police with enquiries.
Yamba Drive is blocked between Kitchener Street and Hindmarsh Drive in Woden, and is expected to be closed for some time. ACT Policing’s Collision Investigation and Reconstruction Team are on scene.
This is the second person to die on ACT roads this year and the second in a week.
Anyone who witnessed the collision and is yet to speak to police is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via www.act.crimestoppers.com.au. Information can be provided anonymously.
UPDATE 04/05/12 10:54: Regarding the second crash this morning we have this from police media:
ACT Policing attended a minor collision between a motorcycle and car at the intersection of Yamba Drive and Bateson Road around 9am this morning. The road was closed for approximately 15 minutes.
UPDATE 04/05/12 13:01: The following has been circulated in the ACT public service:
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Oh dear
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/driver-was-on-bail-20120503-1y27h.html
Once Justin Monfries:
http://the-riotact.com/on-bail-justin-monfries-named-as-driver-in-canberra-hospital-horror-smash/72278
Hope they take full advantage of his presence and get all the trainees up to speed on how to insert a catheter.
The 24-year-old, who has an extensive criminal history, was on bail for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and possessing an offensive weapon, specifically a machete
Surprised?
Not at all.
And now a young woman is dead.
Postalgeek said :
Was thinking exactly the same myself. Catheterise him a couple of hundred times.
Ben_Dover said :
+1
Disgraceful. My condolences to the families of the innocent people involved.
Clinical staff regularly look after patients that the rest of society would like to draw and quarter, part of professionalism and duty of care is to put aside personal judgements to hopefully make no distinction in quality of care given, whether it is deserved or not. Leave karma up to the Gods as nurses already have too much to deal with on a daily basis.
I’m surprised there have not been other accidents, cars travel along there very quickly and a great number of pedestrians cross the road. Traffic design in this part of Woden and within the hospital campus needs a bit of tweaking.
My thoughts and prayers for all.
rhino said :
Because it doesn’t add up in this case. If he was just doing everything for his own benefit, even with 0 regard for others, you still wouldn’t hit those people deliberately because it will be not in your own best interests in the end. And since it seems fairly impossible to do accidentally, it’s hard to work out what was going on in his head.
yellowredme said :
Good post. Always frustrating seeing bloodlust after a tragedy like this. Understandable from the victim’s family, but from everyone else the revenge fantasies that tend to come out are a little worrying. Respect to you and the professionalism of the hospital staffers.
RIP
I’m an atheist, but I’m still adding my own little prayers to all those going out to this poor woman and her family. This is a terrible thing.
May they all, somehow, someday, find some peace.
This is an unnecessary tragedy. And drug affected, or just stupid, that 24 year old should be put away for life just to make sure he can never do it again. This way every family can feel safer because he’s no longer out in society.
He was not being actively pursued by Police.
He was assessed and treated at The Canberra Hospital in a professional manner, as are all patients irrespective of the circumstances leading to their presentation to hospital.
@ rhino – I would suggest that the previous poster was correct in his assertion that attempting to ascribe rational motives to the actions of someone like this is very likely a misguided exercise in futility. One might speculate that, for example, a combination of alcohol intoxication, marijuana intoxication, and simply being a complete and utter f**ktard are probably enough to explain the course of events without appealing to a higher order of reasoning on behalf of the offender.
Condolences to the families, friends and colleagues involved in this tragic event.