Man, 66, charged over alleged hit and run at CastleTown Shopping Centre
A Townsville man has been charged over an alleged hit and run that left an elderly woman with life altering injuries at a shopping centre in North Queensland a year ago.
Townsville
Don't miss out on the headlines from Townsville. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A Belgian Gardens man has been charged in relation to an alleged hit and run that left an elderly woman with life-altering injuries a year ago at CastleTown Shopping Centre.
It will be alleged a now 90-year-old woman was walking in the underground carpark near Woolworths when she was hit by a black ute, causing her to fall and hit her head on the ground on October 15, 2021.
It will be alleged the ute failed to remain at the scene and left the carpark at speed.
The elderly Garbutt woman was taken to hospital where she spent months in a serious but stable condition with head injuries.
Almost a year on from the alleged incident, investigators from the Forensic Crash Unit last Thursday charged a 66-year-old Belgian Gardens man in relation to the incident.
Townsville Forensic Crash Unit Senior Constable Hayley Garrod said when police attended an address to arrest the man, he allegedly ran away on foot before eventually being apprehended.
He has been charged with one count each of driving without due care and attention, causing grievous bodily harm and failing to comply with duties of a driver involved in a crash.
He is due to appear In Townsville Magistrates Court on November 16.
Road Policing Command Assistant Commissioner Ben Marcus said a breakthrough in the police investigation came from allegedly getting a match for the vehicle on CCTV.
“What we will be alleging to the court is that we were able to identify the vehicle as a result of a small piece of CCTV footage that we got from the shopping centre we were able to match that with another image of the vehicle that we obtained separately,” he said.
Senior Constable Garrod said the family of the now 90-year-old woman involved were extremely grateful to hear that someone would face court over the incident.
“They weren’t hopeful (at first); they thought it’d be a needle in a haystack situation, but we’ve kept them up to date, and they’ve been very grateful and relieved,” she said.
“It was a lot of work.
“We had a lot of intelligence from the community, and officers in Brisbane also assisted me with identifying the vehicle.
“We’ve got more and more technology which makes it easier for us to get those answers, but it does take time, especially when your a small unit of three people.”
In March of this year, a $50,000 reward was issued in relation to this incident, however as the arrest resulted directly from police investigations, the payment of the reward is not applicable.
Originally published as Man, 66, charged over alleged hit and run at CastleTown Shopping Centre
‘Not where my focus has been’: LNP candidates remain mum on abortion
KAP leader Robbie Katter has accused David Crisafulli of stealing his voters, while the three LNP candidate hopefuls have stated any law changes are ‘not their focus’.
Your guide to the best Melbourne Cup functions in Townsville
From Cluden Park to The Strand, revellers are expected to flock to events across the city, with pubs, clubs and hotel function rooms packed with punters for Australia’s horseracing day of days.