Ryan Meuleman’s dad Peter Meuleman says it’s time for Daniel and Catherine Andrews to ‘finally tell the truth’

Daniel and Catherine Andrews have been given 28 days to apologise and pay compensation after being hit with new legal action over a near-fatal car crash with a teenage cyclist in Blairgowrie.

Daniel and Catherine Andrews are facing a Federal Court defamation action over their statements on a near-fatal car crash with a teenage cyclist.

In an escalation of the long-running bike boy dispute, lawyers for Ryan Meuleman last week served concerns notices on the former Victorian premier and his wife, giving them 28 days to apologise and compensate him.

“No more lies,” Ryan’s father Peter Meuleman said. “Daniel and Catherine Andrews can ­either finally tell the truth now, and apologise to Ryan, or we can let a Federal Court judge decide.”

Ryan was 15 when he was struck by the Andrews’ family SUV in Blairgowrie in January 2013, suffering serious internal injuries.

Ryan Meuleman was hit while riding his bike when he was 15. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Ryan Meuleman after the crash.

The defamation claim is separate to a Supreme Court case already being run by the Meuleman family against leading law firm Slater & Gordon, which acted for Ryan in the ­aftermath of the crash.

It is the first time Mr and Mrs Andrews have faced personal legal action over the incident.

It centres on comments they made last September after the release of a damning review of the crash conducted by the state’s former Assistant Commissioner for Traffic and Operations Raymond Shuey.

The Shuey review found that the Andrews’ SUV was “travelling at speed” – on the wrong side of the road – and that Victoria Police had engaged in “an overt cover-up to avoid implicating a political figure in a life-threatening” incident.

The defamation claim against Daniel and Catherine Andrews is separate to a Supreme Court case. Picture: David Crosling

The Shuey review found that the Andrews’ SUV was ‘travelling at speed’. Picture: Supplied

It concluded that the police investigation, which supported the Andrews’ version of events, was “deeply flawed”, “unfounded” and “contrary to the available evidence”.

In a joint statement issued after the release of Dr Shuey’s review, the Andrews said: “This so-called report was commissioned by lawyers on behalf of their clients who are seeking money through the courts by suing their former lawyers. We did nothing wrong.

“This matter has already been comprehensively and independently investigated and closed by Victoria Police and integrity agencies. We will not dignify these appalling conspiracy theories by commenting further at this time.”

The couple spoke out against the Meulemans a second time last November after audio of the former premier’s triple-0 call from the scene of the crash was released, in which he tells an emergency services operator “we’ve hit him”.

Mr and Mrs Andrews said of the audio: “The recording confirms the previous statements we’ve made on this matter. The cyclist came flying through from the bike path at Ridley St and T-boned our car at speed.

“This matter has been comprehensively investigated over many years by Victoria Police Professional Standards Command and IBAC.

“Furthermore, the cyclist’s current legal proceedings have nothing to do with us. We are not a party to them. While we are sorry that the cyclist was ­injured in the accident, we did nothing wrong.”

But Mr Meuleman said the evidence would show claims about proper investigations being conducted by Victoria Police Professional Standards Command or IBAC were false.

“Ryan has suffered terribly because of what Daniel and Catherine Andrews did to him that day and because of the lies they’ve told since,” Mr Meuleman said. “He didn’t die that day, thank God … but a part of him did. The crash was so traumatic for him and the ongoing lies have been just as bad.”

Mr and Mrs Andrews are ­expected to be called to give evidence about the circumstances of the crash if the case proceeds to trial.

Catherine Andrews has always maintained she was behind the wheel at the time of the crash, but was not breath-tested. There are also questions over how police investigated the incident and why Mr Andrews drove the damaged SUV away from the scene.

Ryan has always insisted the  car was “speeding” and “seemed to come out of nowhere” when he was struck 17m from the Melbourne Rd-Ridley St intersection, contradicting the ­Andrews’ claims they came to a “complete stop” and “turned right from a stationary ­position”, ­“moments” before the collision.

Police photographs uncovered by the Herald Sun in November 2022 show extensive damage to the front of the Andrews’ car and its windscreen. A buried Ambulance Victoria report also detailed how the Andrews’ car “struck” Ryan while “travelling at 40 to 60km/h”.

The Andrews have engaged high-profile lawyer Leon Zwier to represent them in the dispute. Mr Zwier, of top law firm Arnold Bloch Leibler, helped the Andrews government scrap the East West Link contract at a cost of more than $1bn to taxpayers, as well as the 2026 Commonwealth Games, leading to a compensation payout of $380m.

The Meuleman case against Slater & Gordon is scheduled to go to trial in May.

Originally published as Ryan Meuleman’s dad Peter Meuleman says it’s time for Daniel and Catherine Andrews to ‘finally tell the truth’