In Adelaide, driver who fatally struck student apologizes in court
20-year-old Ashton Friend apologized to Samia Malik's family in a South Australian court. He pleaded guilty to causing her death by careless driving and leaving the scene of a fatal crash.
As ABC News Australia reports, the crash occurred at about 11:00 p.m. on May 6 last year on North East Road in the northeastern Adelaide suburb of Hillcrest. International student Samia Malik had been kneeling on the road for about four minutes before the collision. The reason she was on the roadway was not explained during the hearing.
The defense's explanation
Friend's defense lawyer, Jane Abbey KC, told the District Court of South Australia that her client did not see Malik as he was returning from his girlfriend's home. She said he was checking his rear-view mirror, heard an impact, but initially did not realize he had struck a person.
The lawyer said Friend hoped he had collided with an animal. The car sustained relatively minor damage, which, according to the defense, was consistent with his initial belief that he had hit a small animal.
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Over the next two days, Friend saw a news report about the incident but, according to his lawyer, was in a state of shock and unable to comprehend what he had done. Police identified and arrested him a week after the crash.
Apology and the parties' positions
In court, Friend said he could only imagine the unspeakable pain and trauma he had caused the deceased's family. He said he would carry the burden of his mistakes for the rest of his life and acknowledged personal responsibility for his actions and inaction that night.
The court also heard that the driver was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs and was not speeding. The deceased's sister, Qudisia Malik, in a victim impact statement, called Samia an extraordinary young woman and said the family had lost a daughter, sister and friend who had much of her life ahead of her.
Prosecutor Frank Niemann said that before the collision, other drivers had driven around Malik, while a police car travelling some distance behind Friend's vehicle was able to brake and avoid striking her. According to the prosecutor, Friend did not contact police, although he later learned that he was the one who had struck Malik. The prosecution and defense agreed that a suspended prison sentence would be appropriate when sentencing takes place next month.
