Driver's "cowardly" act after hitting Sunday school teacher
<p><span>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.</span><br /><br /><span>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.</span><br /><br /><span>“What you did was despicable and cowardly,” Judge Peter Lauritsen said on Tuesday.</span><br /><br /><span>“You did not render assistance, but removed the body from your vehicle, placed it on the grass area and drove away,” he said.</span><br /><br /><span>The 46-year-old schoolteacher was carrying groceries across the road to the motel she was staying in at the time.</span><br /><br /><span>She died instantly but he was not charged in relation to the crash.</span></p>
<p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7839139/woman.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/b90283c1139a439380552d308526ef60" /><br /><br /><span>Instead of stopping straight away, the P-plater, drove for 220 metres before making a “controlled” stop at a service lane along the road.</span><br /><br /><span>He would go on to dump the mum’s body on the roadside, court documents show.</span><br /><br /><span>He was at the scene for just 1 minute and 35 seconds before he fled.</span><br /><br /><span>Ms Manyang’s body was not discovered for an hour.</span><br /><br /><span>The driver was not affected by drugs or alcohol but he left the scene and his cowardly, selfish act was slammed by the judge.</span><br /><br /><span>Ms Manyang was a beloved Sunday school teacher, educator and leader in the South Sudanese community.</span><br /><br /><span>More than 5000 mourners attended her funeral.</span><br /><br /><span>“She was greatly respected, loved and admired,” the judge said in his sentence.</span><br /><br /><span>She fled her home country due to the conflict in the region.</span><br /><br /><span>She would later go on to move Australia with her husband, who she met at a camp.</span></p>
