Alleged driver of a stolen car that hit teens in Canberra, charged

The alleged driver of a stolen car that hit two teenage boys on their way to school in Canberra on Friday has appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court.

Transcript

00:00A 31-year-old Melbourne Victorian man, Taylor Hazel, appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court

00:08this morning.

00:09Now, that follows this dramatic incident in Canberra yesterday.

00:13It all started just north of the border here in the New South Wales town of Sutton, where

00:18the man allegedly stole a car from a childcare centre.

00:23An eight-year-old girl was in that car at that time.

00:27She was able to exit the vehicle a short time later and was physically unharmed.

00:33Police say the man then continued to drive the car towards the ACT into an area in south

00:40Canberra where police say he hit two teenage boys outside their school, St Edmunds College,

00:48on Canberra Avenue, a very busy road, and very busy at that time of the morning as well.

00:54The man continued to drive.

00:56He didn't stop.

00:57He then, about a kilometre from hitting those two students, he then crashed the car.

01:03And that's when he was apprehended by a group of tradies, and then police were able to take

01:08him into custody.

01:09Now, this morning, he was charged with a number of offences and then did appear in court.

01:14He pleaded with the magistrate not to be sent to hospital for a mental health assessment

01:20that police were requesting.

01:22He ended up being ordered to go to hospital to have that mental health assessment by the

01:28magistrate.

01:30He will now appear in court at a later date, but his lawyers did indicate that there would

01:35be no application for bail.

01:37Okay, Monty, and has there been an update on the condition of the two boys?

01:42Well, these two teenage boys, they were aged 14 and 15.

01:47They were outside their school, and they were left with some very severe injuries.

01:54They were taken to hospital, where they underwent emergency surgery.

01:58We have heard today that they remain in a serious condition in hospital this morning,

02:03but certainly there has been a lot of support expressed for the school community, for the

02:08families of the two boys.

02:10The ACT Education Minister, Yvette Berry, says that this is a tragic incident, and her

02:16thoughts are with the community there, and also the people that responded to the incident.

02:20So certainly a very dramatic incident here in Canberra, Mel.