Tram passenger fighting for life after Tesla hit-run in Armadale

Tesla drivers are being warned about using “autopilot” in the wake of an alleged hit-run in Melbourne’s inner east.

Tesla drivers are being warned not to take their attention off the road when using “autopilot” in the wake of an alleged hit-run in Melbourne’s inner east.

A woman who works for Victoria Police has been accused of mowing down a pedestrian and fleeing the scene in a Tesla in Armadale.

A 26-year-old Armadale woman was struck by a light-coloured sedan travelling along Wattletree Rd about 6.30am on Tuesday.

Sakshi Agrawal, 23, appeared in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday evening charged with multiple driving offences.

She was granted bail, hours after allegedly hitting and critically injuring Nicole Lagos, who was boarding a tram in Armadale shortly after 6.30am.

The Melbourne Magistrates’ Court heard Ms Agrawal, a former computer science student, had her model 3 Tesla set to “autopilot” when she allegedly struck Ms Lagos on Wattletree Rd.

The court heard the Mount Waverley woman “panicked” and drove away before returning to the scene two hours later to hand herself in to police.

Ms Agrawal had previously been fined for speeding and works full-time as a loading dock manager contracted to Victoria Police, the court heard.

Police opposed Ms Agrawal’s release on bail, arguing she posed a flight risk as she was currently on a bridging visa.

Her student visa ended last year after she completed a Bachelor of Computer Science at Deakin University. The court heard she was now on her partner’s bridging visa.

Defence lawyer Greg Thomas told the court his client was a young woman with no prior convictions who had been “extremely cooperative” with police.

The magistrate agreed and granted Ms Agrawal bail.

“This is very serious offending, but taking those matters into account … I’m satisfied that compelling reasons exist and any unacceptable risk can be reduced or immolated to an acceptable level,” he said.

The court banned Ms Agrawal from driving and ordered her to report to police twice a week ahead as part of her bail conditions.

Police collect evidence from the scene on Wattletree Rd. Picture: Laura Placella

Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Jarrod Dwyer said the female driver “immediately panicked” after hitting the pedestrian and allegedly fled, before returning to the scene soon after to hand herself in.

Sergeant Dwyer said the driver was required to stop and give way to pedestrians as the tram came to a halt and opened its doors.

The driver’s partner, who brought her back to the scene, said she did not need to be convinced to hand herself in.

“She would have come back anyway,” he said.

Sergeant Dwyer said the driver expressed remorse when she was taken into custody.

The fact she returned to the scene to hand herself in reduced her “moral culpability”, he added.

“However, the fact that they didn’t stop to assist is an issue,” Sergeant Dwyer said.

“We appreciate that people will panic in a situation where they’re involved in one of those collisions, but it’s always best to stop.”

The crash victim was rushed to The Alfred hospital, where she is understood to be in a critical condition.

A blue face mask, believed to belong to the victim, could be seen lying on the road as police scoured the scene.

The 26-year-old woman works for Alfred Health, the same health service which is currently treating her, it has been revealed.

Local resident Sophie Gohl said she frequently saw the 26-year-old waiting for the tram on Tuesday mornings.

“I recognise her (as) the sole person that’s sitting at the tram stop,” Ms Gohl said.

“She had an Alfred Aged Care black shirt on.

A woman handed herself in after the crash. Picture: Laura Placella

“It seems like she actually works for the organisation where she’s getting care.”

The Alfred has its aged care ward at its Caulfield Hospital, 3km from where the victim was waiting for her tram.

Another local, Vanessa Sorensen, said she heard a “huge bang” as she walked past the tram on her way to yoga.

“I turned around, I went back and (the woman) was lying on the road,” Ms Sorensen said.

“I went over to her and she was barely conscious, lying on the ground with a terrible head wound and leg wound.”

She said she did not hear the sound of screeching brakes, nor did she see the car flee the scene.

Both Ms Gohl and Ms Sorensen, as well as an off-duty nurse, tended to the victim before an ambulance arrived.

This alleged hit-run is understood to be about the sixth the state has seen since the beginning of the year.

Ms Agrawal will return to court in June.

CAUTION OVER TESLA’S AUTOPILOT

The Herald Sun understands this is the first time a Tesla with Autopilot technology has been involved in a crash resulting in a fatality or serious injury in Australia.

Motoring expert and EV Central editor Toby Hagon said semi-autonomous driving technologies – or advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) – were “not perfect”.

“They’re basically there to assist the driver,” Mr Hagon said.

“They can avoid a crash. They can reduce the severity of the crash. But, at the end of the day, the driver is the one responsible.”

The crash victim is in critical condition in The Alfred hospital. Picture: Laura Placella

He said thousands of scenarios play out on our roads that would be extremely difficult for a computer to try to work out.

Tesla describes its Autopilot technology on its website as requiring “active driver supervision” and says it does “not make the vehicle autonomous”.

The technology enables the car to “steer, accelerate and brake automatically within its lane”.

In addition to Autopilot, a model 3 Tesla provides “visual and audible warnings” when there is a high risk of a frontal collision, and has automatic emergency braking.

However, Tesla’s Autopilot has been linked to the deaths of several customers overseas.

Many other crashes have also been linked to the technology, including 11 collisions with first responder scenes in the US.

Mercedes-Benz and Toyota have sent prototype vehicles to Melbourne to study how autonomous cars should interact with trams.

And Lexus joined a University of Melbourne study in Carlton establishing wireless communication between cars, trams and road infrastructure in 2021.

The study could lead to autonomous cars automatically stopping near trams, pedestrian crossings and red lights.

Anyone with information or dashcam footage is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.