Prahran police Constable Penny Ly a year on from hit and run

CONSTABLE Penny Ly is lucky to be alive. It’s been a year since she was flung five feet into the air after being deliberately hit by a motorcyclist during a routine booze bus operation. This is her story.

Constable Penny Ly was involved in a hit run when a motorcyclist struck her while trying to evade a breath test. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

AT BARELY 5ft, Prahran Constable Penny Ly is not an intimidating figure.

Her petite frame looks like it would blow away in a strong gust of wind.

It’s easy to see why she was flung five feet in the air when a motorcyclist deliberately ploughed into her while she was working a booze bus operation on the Monash Freeway last November.

The then 31-year-old hit the ground hard.

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At the time she said all she could see were headlights as man and machine hurtled towards her, and one year on she said her approach to the job had changed.

She sustained relatively minor injuries but said she was keenly aware things could have been worse.

“My arm was slightly fractured, and I had a little bit of a fractured spine, so I was just very lucky that I didn’t break any bones,” Constable Ly said.

Constable Penny Ly was involved in a hit run when a motorcyclist hit her while trying to evade a breath test. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

And while she battled anxiety for months after the incident, she said her colleagues at Prahran Highway Patrol had been a great source of support, as had Victoria Police’s welfare services.

She’s also adamant that despite what happened she could never imagine doing any other job.

“I’ve wanted to join the police force since a young age,” she said.

“There was just something about it that I thought was awesome and I always wanted to do something where I’m not bound behind a desk.

“It’s different jobs all the time, you see different things that you don’t normally see as a normal person.”

She said she’s now constantly vigilant of her and her partner’s surroundings when they’re out on patrol, “so they’re ready, I’m ready”, if something goes wrong.

“It makes me more aware and cautious about my work partner’s safety, especially when we’re intercepting cars,” she said.

“(Now) I’ll always face the traffic rather than face the driver (when we pull someone over), because I want to be more aware of our surroundings and what’s coming at us.”

Sadly what happened to Constable Ly was not an isolated incident, and she said it wasn’t worth it for motorists to put themselves and the public at risk trying to evade police.

“It’s not the first time people try to take off on us, just to avoid something small,” she said.

Constable Penny Ly said she never wanted a desk job. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Crime statistics show there were 4503 police evasions last financial year in Victoria, 101 in Prahran Highway Patrol’s police service area, which encompasses Stonnington and Port Phillip.

Figures also show 1922 police officers were injured in the course of their duties in the state in the year to July 1.

Detectives are still hunting the man who ran down Constable Ly, and Stonnington detective Sergeant Dave Cox said their investigation had taken them interstate.

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But their inquiries have been hampered by the fact the stolen bike also bore stolen registration plates.

“Any line of work where you go to work and you get injured trying to do your job is a bad case, all injuries are bad,” Sgt Cox said.

“But because of the (way) this rider appeared to drive towards her … it appears to have been deliberate.

“And that’s the concerning part for not just, in these circumstances Penny, but for everybody who goes out there.

“You’ve got to understand that there’s a person behind the badge, a family behind the badge.

“We have got some positive leads that we’re still following up but we really need that male to come forward. And we really need anybody who may have been made aware of it post the incident by talking to this person responsible for it, we need them to come forward.”

On evasion charges alone he could face a fine of more than $9000 for a first offence and up to six months in prison, while any subsequent offences could lead to him being locked up for up to one year and fined more than $19,000.

But while her colleagues work hard to find the person responsible, Constable Ly said she’s focused on getting on with the job.

She’s in line for a promotion become a Senior Constable, and she said management had put new measures in place to guard against similar incidents happening in the future.

And Constable Ly said her family refrained from getting on her case too much about the dangers of being a police officer.

She said her mum and dad were worried when she told them she wanted to join the police, but now they only felt deep pride in their daughter’s success.

“My mum always wanted me to do a desk job but I was like, ‘nup’. I like to be out and about, hands on,” she said.

“I love coming into work every day, that’s my motivation to get up early in the morning.”

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