Second person charged over fatal Monash University hit-run
A second person has been charged over a fatal hit-run that killed student Nisali Perera outside Monash University’s Clayton campus.
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The hit-run driver accused of killing a Monash University student last week has been charged with her death.
Shane Cochrane, 37, was last night remanded in custody and will front the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court today.
He did not appear in front of Magistrate Michael Smith last night and made no application for bail.
He has been charged with culpable driving causing death, failure to stop after a fatal collision, failure to render assistance, and driving while disqualified.
Victoria Police Senior Constable Adam West said the 37-year-old is still in custody and assisting police.
Earlier, co-accused Lauren Hindes, 33, appeared in court after allegedly spending five days on the run with her boyfriend following the hit-run.
She is charged with helping Cochrane avoid police after he allegedly sped through a red light and ploughed into 20-year-old Monash University student Nisali Perera as she crossed a road at Clayton on August 29. Ms Hindes cried when she appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court yesterday.
She was granted bail, despite prosecutors’ objections.
Nisali Perera, 20, was killed when a car allegedly ploughed through a red light and hit her as she was crossing Wellington Rd beside the Clayton university campus about 9.45pm.
Ms Perera, was struck at “significant speed” as she was crossing the road at a green pedestrian light.
She had almost made it safety across Wellington Rd in Clayton when she was mowed down, police revealed on Monday.
Victoria Police investigators earlier released CCTV and photos of two people they wanted to question.
The pair — Shane Cochrane, 37, from Bayswater, and Lauren Hindes, 33, from the Clayton area — was seen on CCTV nearby at the time of the incident.
Detective Inspector Stuart McGregor said the international student had been doing “everything right” when she was hit.
“She was walking across at a green man signal, she was doing everything right and had almost made it across the intersection when a dark coloured Mazda station wagon went through a red light,” he said.
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Det Insp McGregor said a number of witnesses had come forward, telling police two people were in the car.
“We’re looking at the fact that it was a male driving the car at the time,” he said.
“We’ve been able to track down CCTV footage that depicts a male and a female walking away from the scene at the time of the collision.
“They’re the ones we believe can supply us with the information we desperately need to bring this matter to a close for the family of the poor victim.”
Ms Perera, an only child, was studying Commerce and Business Psychology at Monash University’s Clayton campus.