Driver's "cowardly" act after hitting Sunday school teacher
Thomas Street, a Melbourne P-plater who crashed into a mum-of-five while she crossed the road has been jailed for failing to stop and assist her, and dumping her body afterwards.
The 32-year-old was driving home from his job at Bob Jane T-Mart when he crashed into Abiol Manyang at Ardeer, in the city’s west, in May 2019.
“What you did was despicable and cowardly,” Judge Peter Lauritsen said on Tuesday.
“You did not render assistance, but removed the body from your vehicle, placed it on the grass area and drove away,” he said.
The 46-year-old schoolteacher was carrying groceries across the road to the motel she was staying in at the time.
She died instantly but he was not charged in relation to the crash.
Instead of stopping straight away, the P-plater, drove for 220 metres before making a “controlled” stop at a service lane along the road.
He would go on to dump the mum’s body on the roadside, court documents show.
He was at the scene for just 1 minute and 35 seconds before he fled.
Ms Manyang’s body was not discovered for an hour.
The driver was not affected by drugs or alcohol but he left the scene and his cowardly, selfish act was slammed by the judge.
Ms Manyang was a beloved Sunday school teacher, educator and leader in the South Sudanese community.
More than 5000 mourners attended her funeral.
“She was greatly respected, loved and admired,” the judge said in his sentence.
She fled her home country due to the conflict in the region.
She would later go on to move Australia with her husband, who she met at a camp.