Hit-run driver who left teen injured spared jail
A hit and run driver who left a teenage girl with horrific injuries in Melbourne before spending four days on the run has been spared jail.
Thi Nguyen, 42, said she didn’t stop because she was scared and couldn’t speak English. She told police she thought the teenager was OK.
The 42-year-old hit a girl who was weaving in and out of oncoming traffic on a Coburg road.
The teen laid bloodied with severe head injuries while Nguyen took off and didn’t contact police.
On Friday she was convicted and ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid work. Her license was also suspended for four years.
Nguyen told police she left because she was scared, didn’t speak English and thought the teen was OK.
Judge Gabriele Cannon told Nguyen, “clearly” she knew the car she was driving had “significant damage”.
“It defies belief in my opinion that you didn’t know the person had been injured,” she said.
“Although it was no thanks to you. The victim was assisted by others but it was your primary obligation to do so. Others were decent enough to help.”
A friend urged Nguyen to call police but she waited until after a long weekend so she could speak with a lawyer.
The judge gave Nguyen a sentencing discount because of her guilty plea.
It was also accepted that the mother-of-two was remorseful given she’d prayed for the victim at her temple and wanted to apologise to the teen.
