Fresh update after top cop’s son killed
The case against the young man accused of killing the son of South Australian Police Commissioner Grant Stevens has been delayed as investigators and the defence continue to wait on some crucial pieces of information.
Dhirren Singh Randhawa, 18, has been charged with dangerous driving causing death after he allegedly struck and killed Charlie Stevens on November 17, while Charlie was out with friends celebrating Schoolies at Goolwa Beach.
Mr Randhawa has not yet entered pleas to the charges against him, which also include leaving an accident scene after causing death and failing to answer questions to police.
On Tuesday, Director of Public Prosecutions Martin Hinton KC asked magistrate John Wells at the Adelaide Magistrates Court to adjourn the case for five weeks while the prosecution waits for pathology and crash reconstruction reports.
Mr Hinton said he would receive the reports in the next “three or four weeks”.
Mr Randhawa’s defence counsel did not oppose the adjournment and Mr Wells scheduled April 16 for Mr Randhawa’s charge determination hearing.
The first details of the alleged hit-and-run crash that shook Australia emerged in court documents in late November.
Three witnesses state Mr Randhawa did a U-turn in his car and drove into Charlie as he and his friends were waiting for a Schoolies shuttle bus to take them back to Victor Harbor from Goolwa Beach on Friday night.
The witnesses, who said they were waiting with Charlie, say they flagged down Mr Randhawa, who was driving a blue VW Golf, to see if they could hitch a ride.
But there was not enough room in the car and the witnesses say Mr Randhawa drove away before making a U-turn.
He then allegedly sped up and started travelling on the wrong side of the road before hitting Charlie, court documents reveal.
There is no suggestion of animosity between the groups.
But a second eyewitness account from inside the car tells a different story, according to the court documents.
The witness, Montana Rose Bowd, states some males were on the western side of the road and partially on the footpath, but there was also a male on the eastern side of the road.
Ms Bowd says a male from the eastern side ran across the road into Mr Randhawa’s car, according to the court documents.
She states Mr Randhawa then drove a short distance before calling his mother and asking whether he should turn himself into a police station or call the police.
As he was talking to her, the police arrived and arrested him, she said.
An independent lead investigator, separate from the SAPOL hierarchy, has taken charge of the investigation.
If Mr Randhawa is found guilty, he faces a maximum jail term of 15 years and disqualification from holding or obtaining a driver’s licence for 10 years.
Mr Randhawa’s mother, Amreeta Stara, attended court with her son on Tuesday.
Ms Stara and Mr Randhawa declined to make any comment after leaving court.
