Gulet Mohammed Ahmed refused bail after crash that killed teenage girl in Carlton
A driver who caused a horror smash on Lygon St, killing a 16-year-old girl and injuring her parents, was four times over the legal limit and ran three red lights, a court has heard.
Police & Courts
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A man using ice to ‘deal with his demons’ allegedly ran a series of red lights before he killed a 16-year-old girl in a horror Carlton crash, a court has heard
Essendon man Gulet Mohammed Ahmed was allegedly four times over the legal alcohol limit and high on ice when he ran three red lights before slamming into an Alfa Romeo on Lygon St on March 17 this year, killing a teenager and injuring her parents.
The 40-year-old hoon appeared via video link from custody in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday where Detective senior constable Suzanne Barnes warned that if Ahmed were to be released on bail, police would hold “an extreme level of concern” for the public.
“The chances of him reoffending and killing another innocent person are extremely high,” Ms Barnes said.
She told the court the accused had a 26-year criminal history, which included convictions for armed robbery and assaulting a police officer, resulting in him serving lengthy jail terms.
He also has prior convictions for “serious traffic related matters”, she added.
The Detective said the young girl’s parents “strongly opposed” bail and would be “extremely upset and angry” if he was allowed back out into the community.
“They’ve suffered an immeasurable amount of grief. They’ve lost their daughter,” she said.
Moments after the deadly crash, Ahmed – who police allege was “aggressive and erratic” – was detained in a dramatic citizen’s arrest, with multiple men pinning him to the ground.
His teen victim, from Brunswick, who was in Year 11 at Lowther Hall Anglican Grammar School, was rushed to hospital from the horror scene with life-threatening injuries.
She died four days later.
Carlton local Jeffrey Broussard and his partner Travis Oliver were also struck during the crash as they walked their dog along Lygon St and were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Ahmed is now facing 16 charges, including culpable driving causing death and dangerous driving causing serious injury.
His defence lawyer, who argued that her client had not been before the courts since 2011, said he had spent the past decade “sorting his life out” and “dealing with his own demons”.
But prosecutor Dianne Mitchell pointed out that Ahmed was behind bars for six of those years, giving him little time to rack up more convictions.
She told the court the alleged drug-driver was an “unacceptable risk” to the community and would likely reoffend, noting that he didn’t view his alleged abuse of alcohol and ice as a problem.
Magistrate John Doherty agreed, calling Ahmed’s alleged offending “horrific” and “reprehensible”.
“I would fear for the community and the public if this man was going to be bailed,” Mr Doherty said.
“This application is refused.”
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