Rohan Dennis’ police interview released to the Advertiser detailing lead-up to wife Melissa Hoskins’ death
Rohan Dennis’ police interview has revealed the chilling details of the lead-up to his wife’s death and how she was still “breathing and awake” after being hit with his car.
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An Olympic cyclist’s chilling police interview has revealed the lead-up to his wife, Melissa Hoskin’s death and that she was still awake after being hit.
Rohan Craig Dennis, 44, told police he “heard a thump” before rushing to Ms Hoskins who was gurgling and moaning in pain.
The mother-of-two died on December 30, 2023 after being struck by the Volkswagen Amarok Highline V6 ute Dennis was driving on Avenel Gardens Rd, Medindie.
In his police interview in the early hours on December 31, 2023, Dennis told the officers he and Ms Hoskins were having an argument about renovations and “tensions boiled over”.
“We were yelling at each other, and I was just like ‘I’m out’ as in like I’m just gonna leave the house,” he said.
“As I was getting in my car, my wife Mel ran out and as I was moving she jumped in front and onto the bonnet.
“So I kept driving slowly down the lane and was like just looking at her saying ‘what are you doing’.
“Then we got to the end of Medindie Lane and I stopped and noticed Mel was looking to jump off basically … and she jumped off.”
Dennis then said he “put his foot down” to make sure Ms Hoskins couldn’t attempt to get into the car.
“She attempted to grab the door handle, which I believe she got a handle on now and must have been running next to the car trying to get onto the footstep to the side,” he said.
“At this stage I’ve realised that like, she’s probably gonna try and get on and it’s getting a little bit out of control.
“From memory I let go of the accelerator but I heard a thump and I saw in my mirror that she was on the ground.
“So I pulled over as quick as I could and ran back to her.”
Dennis said he rolled Ms Hoskins onto her side because she seemed to be gurgling and choking on something which he thought might have been blood.
“I was just talking to her the whole time to try keep her awake,” he said.
“She was just moaning, like grunting with the pain and I was saying ‘can you feel your legs, are you OK’ … and she was nodding as yes.
“Like I knew she’d hit her head but … when I pulled her it felt like she potentially broke some ribs or something and like this was bloody hoping it’s the worse thing.
“And that’s why blood was coming up.
“That’s why I was thinking maybe that’s why she was struggling to talk. She couldn’t quite breathe properly.”
Dennis told the officers he didn’t know CPR and didn’t want to do anything wrong so left it for the ambulance.
“And they got there and she was still breathing and awake,” he said.
Ms Hoskins, originally from Perth, later died in the Royal Adelaide Hospital from catastrophic injuries.
In his interview, Dennis told officers he had no intention of hurting his wife and it was the “last thing I’d ever bloody do”.
Tali Costi, prosecuting, told the District Court on Monday Dennis’ offending related to the conduct where he initially accelerated in circumstances in which he knew Ms Hoskins was very close to the car.
The court heard Dennis estimated he was travelling at about 20km/h, with CCTV footage showing Ms Hoskins was on the bonnet for approximately six seconds.
It is not alleged Dennis caused her death.
Dennis earlier pleaded guilty to aggravated creating likelihood of harm.
The charges of causing death by dangerous driving and aggravated driving without due care were dropped as a result.
Judge Ian Press will sentence Dennis, a dual world champion who retired from his 16-year cycling career in 2023, next month.
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