Luke Stefani was on the roof of the car prior to Wanniassa hit and run?

Pumpkin said :

If Sharon is guilty of something then she will pay for it… But nobody should judge because one day something similar may just bite us on the arse and karma will rare it’s ugly head 🙁

You know, we actually have a system which, when its working properly, actually does do exactly what you describe above.
Judge people, and if needed, sentence appropriately.

“as she is paying for it now through her own conscience, through her guilt of having a drink that night and leaving Luke.”

‘But I felt bad afterwards” very rarely gets someone off a criminal offence, and some cynical people might view that as a rational reaction to making an attempt to run away from the scene of an accident to (potentially) avoid prosecution for either a) drink driving, b) accidentally\on purpose nudging a motor vehicle into someone you’d been arguing with, or c) both.

So how exactly is posting on RiotACT to defend her actually helping?

Pumpkin, regardless of what I’ve said, I hope you can make sense of this tradgedy, and I hope Sharon can also come to terms with what’s happened.

I guess the people here tend to be a little harsh, because they keenly sense that these sorts of accidents shouldn’t happen, and for someone to lose their life in those circumstances is tragic.

Again, I’m sorry for your loss.

Pumpkin said :

I totally agree with you, that was one question I kept asking, because I too would will that person to live and stay and hold that person until help arrived, but none of us have been in that predicament so all I am saying is we shouldn’t judge. If Sharon is guilty of something then she will pay for it as she is paying for it now through her own conscience, through her guilt of having a drink that night and leaving Luke. But nobody should judge because one day something similar may just bite us on the arse and karma will rare it’s ugly head 🙁

Won’t happen to me, because –

a. I don’t drink and drive.

b. I would never, ever leave the scene of an accident.

I have no problem with your position that none of us know for certain how we would react in those circumstances (unless we’ve already been in similar circumstances). That doesn’t mean we can’t assess what has happened and ‘judge’ accordingly.

I do have a problem with your contention that it was an accident. For all anyone knows Luke was alive after the initial incident and may still be alive if he was attended to immediately – something made impossible by Sharon fleeing the scene. If that was the case, then his injury may have been an accident but his death certainly wasn’t.

I totally agree with you, that was one question I kept asking, because I too would will that person to live and stay and hold that person until help arrived, but none of us have been in that predicament so all I am saying is we shouldn’t judge. If Sharon is guilty of something then she will pay for it as she is paying for it now through her own conscience, through her guilt of having a drink that night and leaving Luke. But nobody should judge because one day something similar may just bite us on the arse and karma will rare it’s ugly head 🙁

I’m sure everyone wishes they could turn back time, but then again, not everyone would leave the scene of so serious an accident.

Luke adored Sharon, as she did him, it was a tragic accident, don’t you think if you could turn back time that she would do that! I lost a beautiful friend 🙁

that’s why she left the scene, she was scared!

Scared of what, exactly? Scared of telling the police/ambos what happened? Scared of being blamed? Scared of being subjected to a breath test? Scared that he’d get up again and come after her?

I’m sorry you’ve lost someone you know, and I understand the desire to not see fault in your friends.

Granny said :

Somehow I can’t imagine backing out of the driveway and hitting my 4-year-old kid, then driving off leaving her lying there in her own blood, with fatal head injuries, alone and afraid … no matter how scared I was, and no matter how many times I had called the police or ambulance.

If anything I would be racing her to hospital or just holding her and loving her and willing her to live. I’m afraid I do not understand this other kind of ‘love’.

granny, i agree.

If it was a choice between my licence or my loved one dying alone, stuff the licence.

shock and panic mode? what crap!

dodge responsibility for actions? maybe. avoid confrontation with police and / or family?
more likely…

Which says what? That you’ve obviously heard Sharon’s explanation of events. That doesn’t necessarily mean that is what happened.

Unfortunately Luke isn’t around to verify.

The skid marks and the fact that Sharon left the scene don’t exactly lend a lot of credibility to Sharon either.

Cameron, am telling you the facts because I am family of these people!

Must we go through this again? Pumpkin, given your total lack of substantiation, you version of events is no more the truth than anyone else rattling off a theory about car surfing or bad blood.

Do not presume to come on here and lecture people regarding the ‘facts’ if you aren’t prepared to demonstrate how you know what you know and why it’s true.

If you’re not prepared to do it, don’t expect us to treat what you’ve said as gospel.

Pumpkin said :

Just shows everyone judges, if you would like to know the truth well here it is. Luke and Sharon were arguing after a night of having fun and drinking.. as we all sometimes do (hands up! Sharon wanted to leave and drive back to her mothers place and Luke wanted her to stay, he jumped on the roof of her car as she was leaving, Sharon (out of reflex) hit the brakes, Luke fell and hit his head on the road. She jumped out of the car and seen that he was hurt, she called for the police and ambulance (many times).. but she went into shock and panic mode, that’s why she left the scene, she was scared! Accident, accident, accident!! Get a life all!

I’m thinking the skid marks that fishtail all the way down the road that police had clearly marked out tell a different story…

Somehow I can’t imagine backing out of the driveway and hitting my 4-year-old kid, then driving off leaving her lying there in her own blood, with fatal head injuries, alone and afraid … no matter how scared I was, and no matter how many times I had called the police or ambulance.

If anything I would be racing her to hospital or just holding her and loving her and willing her to live. I’m afraid I do not understand this other kind of ‘love’.

Just shows everyone judges, if you would like to know the truth well here it is. Luke and Sharon were arguing after a night of having fun and drinking.. as we all sometimes do (hands up! Sharon wanted to leave and drive back to her mothers place and Luke wanted her to stay, he jumped on the roof of her car as she was leaving, Sharon (out of reflex) hit the brakes, Luke fell and hit his head on the road. She jumped out of the car and seen that he was hurt, she called for the police and ambulance (many times).. but she went into shock and panic mode, that’s why she left the scene, she was scared! Accident, accident, accident!! Get a life all!

Both occasions it appears that they were most definately aware that they had hit their respective “loved ones” with their vehicles. No excuses.

she was lying in the middle of the road… it remains to be seen if he intentionally ran over her or just didnt see her until it was too late…

(as was my interpretation of WIN news this evening)

On a sort of related matter I heard today that the guy that allegedly ran over and killed his GF in Gungahlin some time back is now only going to be charged with leaving the scene of an accident and not murder as was the case at first.

My sympathies to the Stefani family at this very sad time. I grew up with his cousin and met Luke a few times.

hopefully the full story will come out in due course

No matter what was going on prior to the incident she should never have left.

Yes.

Skidbladnir said :

44 year old man, 3am…
Wanniassa isn’t that hard a partying place for carsurfing.

Possibly he was either hanging on to a window\bonnet as part of an argument, and things got out of hand?

Or maybe she intentionally hit him, he bounced up, she slowed down, he landed and stayed on the roof, she sped up, he rolled off…

No idea, really.
But car surfing sounds very unlikely.

Were there any prior threats of violence or bad blood between the two?

unfortunately, whatever it was, someone died because of it.

she should have stayed with him. bugger the blood alcohol test, that is a bad way to die, on your own.

44 year old man, 3am…
Wanniassa isn’t that hard a partying place for carsurfing.

Possibly he was either hanging on to a window\bonnet as part of an argument, and things got out of hand?

Or maybe she intentionally hit him, he bounced up, she slowed down, he landed and stayed on the roof, she sped up, he rolled off…

No idea, really.
But car surfing sounds very unlikely.

Were there any prior threats of violence or bad blood between the two?

Sounds like she didn’t want to stick around to be breathalysed.

Mr Evil said :

Car surfing – the sport of the indestructable?

I wouldn’t expect a 40-year old to be car surfing, more like they had an argument….

Car surfing – the sport of the indestructable?

Rightio then.

I wonder if as a driver you are responsible for the death of someone who dies from head injuries as a result of climbing on your car as you’re driving away?

I’m not necessarily suggesting those are the circumstances under which this death occurred either.

It is believed Mr Stefani had been on the roof of the car before the accident.

… as one does.