Pedestrians hit by car on Aerodrome Road in Maroochydore
Updated ,first published
The man who allegedly drove his car into eight pedestrians on the Sunshine Coast, causing life-threatening injuries, had been involved in a confrontation with some members of the group moments earlier.
A white Toyota Yaris hatchback allegedly crashed into a crowd at the intersection of Fourth Avenue and Aerodrome Road in Maroochydore just before midnight Saturday.
The 38-year-old driver fled the scene and abandoned the car nearby, but was tracked down by police a short time later to a beachside flat in Alexandra Parade.
On Sunday afternoon, police confirmed he had been charged with eight counts of attempted murder. The man was due to appear in the Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Monday.
Police said he was not an Australian citizen but lived on the Sunshine Coast.
A 23-year-old woman from New South Wales was taken to Sunshine Coast University Hospital with critical injuries immediately following the crash, then flown to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.
A male teenager suffered potentially life-threatening head injuries and was also taken to a Sunshine Coast hospital along with two others who are in a stable condition.
Detective inspector Peter Hocken said on Sunday afternoon that police believed the man had clashed with some of the injured men while trying to cross the pedestrian crossing earlier in the night. He may have been affected by alcohol.
“This is completely inexplicable,” Hocken told reporters in Maroochydore.
“He was clearly victimized in the first incident and returned with his vehicle.”
The woman, who was struggling to survive, was unknown to the men and was coincidentally walking next to them with a friend. He was visiting his family with a surprise visit before Christmas.
“He was walking along the side of the road minding his own business when he was struck,” Hocken added.
“I think… he made an obvious move to get in front of them. He then stepped onto the pavement and walked down the path for a while.”
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