A British tourist has been denied bail after the death of a 51-year-old man who she allegedly struck from behind while riding an e-scooter on a CBD footpath while drunk.
Thanh Phan died on Tuesday morning after he suffered critical injuries as a result of the incident in Perth’s CBD on Saturday night.
Thanh Phan, 51, was hit by an e-scooter while dining out in Perth on Saturday night.
Alicia Kemp, 24, was arrested and charged at the scene and on Tuesday had those charges upgraded to dangerous driving occasioning bodily harm and dangerous driving occasioning death.
She applied for bail with the help of a duty lawyer but was told by the magistrate her risk of fleeing the state was too great.
Alicia Kemp’s boyfriend outside Perth Magistrates Court on Monday. Credit: 9News Perth
It comes as Phan’s family urged a review of e-scooter hire regulations in the wake of the death of the “beloved husband, father of two, brother, and dear friend”.
In a statement released through police, Phan’s family asked for privacy as they grieved their loss.
“We also call for a review of the governance and safety regulations surrounding hired e-scooters to help prevent further serious incidents that put lives at risk,” the statement said.
The court was told Kemp was in Australia with her partner on a four-month tourist visa and had been working at Durty Nelly’s Irish Pub on Murray Street since her arrival.
She had been out drinking with a friend from 2.30pm on Saturday, the court heard, when her friend was evicted from a bar due to intoxication.
The pair then walked along Murray Street and hired an e-scooter just before 8.30pm, with police prosecutors alleging Kemp was in control of the e-scooter while her friend was a passenger.
Prosecutors told the court Kemp’s “inexplicably dangerous” riding was captured by CCTV, and walkers had to “take evasive action” as Kemp allegedly rode the e-scooter on the footpath in the CBD.
The court was told Kemp allegedly travelled between 20-25km/h and had a blood alcohol content of 0.158 when she struck Phan from behind as he stood at the intersection of King Street and Murray Street waiting to cross the road.
“She careered into his back,” prosecutors told the court, which caused Phan to fall forward and hit his head.
The 51-year-old suffered a “significant brain bleed”, the court was told, and Kemp’s passenger – a 26-year-old woman – was also thrown from the scooter and sustained a fractured skull and broken nose.
The court was told the maximum penalty for the charges against Kemp was 20 years in prison.
The magistrate told the court it was “a very difficult decision for the court to make”, but with a strong prosecution case and a high sentence if convicted, there was “the possibility of [Kemp] not returning to court to answer the charges”.
“The temptation might be that [she] won’t return,” he said.
“I can’t manage that risk.”
Kemp will be back before the court on July 15.
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