Lisarow: Shelton Todd Farmer, 41, admits failing to stop and assist after hitting girl, 12, crossing the road

An autistic kitchen hand kept driving home despite hearing his side mirror smash when he struck a young girl and looked back to see her lying on the road, a court has heard.

The VW Golf Shelton Todd Farmer, 41, of Lisarow, was driving when he struck a girl, 12, crossing Railway Crescent but didn't stop to offer assistance. Picture: NSW Police

An autistic man told police he thought a young girl he ran over after she stepped out into the road without looking was “okay”, so he kept driving home, a court has heard.

Shelton Todd Farmer, 41, of Lisarow, faced Gosford Local Court on Tuesday where he pleaded guilty to failing to stop and assist after an impact causing injury and not giving his particulars to an injured person.

An agreed set of facts states the kitchen hand left the Lisarow pizza shop where he worked about 2.45pm on Friday, February 7, in his Volkswagen Golf.

He turned left at the lights into Railway Crescent and was heading south when a 12-year-old girl and her older brother, 14, stopped to cross on their way home from school.

The facts state the girl stepped out onto the road “without looking” and Farmer’s front passenger side tyre ran over her left foot while his passenger mirror smashed into her right arm.

Railway Crescent Lisarow where Shelton Todd Farmer, 41, struck a girl, 12, who was crossing the road on her way home from school. Picture: Google

The girl was knocked to the ground and was later taken to John Hunter Hospital with a badly fractured tibia and fibula, which required “internal fixation” and a dislocated and broken wrist.

In his police interview the following day Shelton told officers from the Hunter Crash Investigation Unit he looked back and thought she was “okay”.

Farmer faced Gosford Local Court on Tuesday where he pleaded guilty. Picture: Peter Clark

“I was doing 60km/h, there was no cars in front of me or behind me,” he said.

“I did not see any persons walking on the side of the road. Suddenly I heard a bang on the passenger side of my car. I slowed down and looked in my rear vision mirror and saw a girl laying on the ground with another person.

“I kept driving home as I thought she was okay.”

The facts state Farmer told his mother, who was also his NDIS carer, about hitting the girl but maintained he thought she was okay.

Farmer’s mother called police the following day after officers issued a media release and a still image of Farmer’s car which was captured on CCTV from a nearby church.

Officers retrieved a storage card from his dashcam and upon reviewing the footage it became “clear the girl stepped out into the lane of travel without looking”.

Police obtained dashcam footage from another car travelling in the opposite direction which showed the girl “spinning away from the vehicle before failing to the ground”.

The facts state, while it would be impossible to prove Farmer knew he had run over her foot or that he had caused grievous bodily harm, it would have been obvious to any driver that a “mirror strike” on a pedestrian would have caused a “bruise” at the very least.

Given his medical history and his “social mannerisms” police also raised a “question of fitness” with Service NSW about his ability to hold a licence.

Farmer was adjourned for sentence on July 10.