Calls for major driver's licence change after school holiday horror in Melbourne: 'Valid question'
A silver Toyota Yaris, driven by the elderly woman, mounted the footpath near a playground on Coleman Road in Wantirna South, in Melbourne 's east, shortly before 12.30pm on Thursday.
A 59-year-old grandmother, her 60-year-old partner, and their two-year-old grandson were walking along the footpath in the same direction as the car when they were struck.
The grandmother died at the scene.
Her partner is still fighting for life in The Alfred Hospital.
Their young grandson was rushed to The Royal Children's Hospital with life-threatening injuries, but is now in a stable condition.
The 'terribly shaken' elderly driver escaped with minor scratches but remains in hospital. She currently isn't in a position to be interviewed by police.
Many unanswered questions remain, including whether or not the driver should have been behind the wheel given her age.
In the wake of the tragedy, Acting Premier Ben Carroll indicated support for more frequent retesting of elderly drivers to ensure they're fit to drive, in line with other states and territories.
He vowed to take the issue up with Road Safety Minister Melissa Horne.
'In relation to people who are elderly and driving, I think it is a valid question … around testing,' Carroll told reporters on Friday.
'There are a range of initiatives in place through our general practitioners right around Victoria when it comes to making sure that Victorians continue to get tested for their driver's licence.
'But I think this, no doubt this tragedy has brought it into focus.
'Having said that, there will be a thorough investigation underway and we will wait for that to run its course.'
Carroll also extended his condolences to the victims' family.
'My heart, as every Victorian's, just breaks for this family and what they're going through and our thoughts are with them,' he said.
The latest tragedy comes a year after Victoria's state government rejected calls by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners to introduce age-based regulations in line with other jurisdictions.
In Victoria, drivers aged over-75 only need to renew their licence every three years.
NSW, Queensland, ACT, Tasmania and the Northern Territory require drivers over 75 to undergo an annual health check, while older drivers in South Australia must complete self-assessments.
In Western Australia, an annual medical assessment is required after turning 80 to renew a driver's licence.
Thursday's fatality took Victoria's road toll to 14 lives lost in the last seven days.
It's understood the elderly driver collided with a street sign and struck the pedestrians before the out-of-control car continued down the road for another 200m running through the fence near a playground.
'It came from behind,' Superintendent Justin Goldsmith said.
'It looks like it has lost control about 40m or 50m before the collision with the people who were walking on the other side of that road.'
Supt Goldsmith said it was too early to say whether the driver had suffered a medical episode when she lost control.
It's unknown whether charges will be laid.
Crash investigators will examine whether speed was a contributing factor.
'That will be subject to the investigation, but it is a downhill section of road, so if there has been a lack of control to some degree there is a possibility the car would have picked up speed as it's driven further down Coleman Road,' Supt Goldsmith said.
'We've lost so many lives and had so many life-threatening injuries over the course of last week (and it) is completely horrific and unacceptable.'
Victoria has recorded a number of deadly crashes involving out-of-control vehicles in recent years.
In November, kindergarten worker Eleanor Bryant was killed and a three-year-old boy injured when a truck driven by a man, 68, smashed through the gate of Macedon Ranges preschool's playground.
Two weeks earlier, an 11-year-old boy was killed and four other students injured when an SUV crashed through a fence at Auburn South Primary School in Melbourne's east.
Five people were killed and six injured in November 2023 when a diabetic driver passed out and crashed into patrons seated outside the Royal Daylesford Hotel.
The male driver, 66 was charged but the allegations were ultimately struck out, after a magistrate found there wasn't enough evidence to support a conviction.
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Daily Mail
43 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Transgender 'Soho icon' fell to her death from Westminster bridge 'when she climbed onto the side to urinate' while wearing white Chanel suit, inquest hears
A trans woman who plunged off Westminster Bridge had probably climbed onto the side to urinate, an inquest heard. Natasha Reddington-Romanov's disappearance sparked dozens of missing person appeals when she vanished after leaving a nightclub last September. Friends said the 55-year-old hadn't had gender reassignment surgery and was known for peeing when drunk by cocking one leg thanks to her often complicated undergarments. After dinner with a friend on September 20 last year, she was walking home intoxicated in a white Chanel suit when she needed the loo. And she made a fatal mistake - lifting one leg over the side of the central London bridge in an attempt to relieve herself and slipping over the edge. It was theorised by coroner Paul Rogers that she may have plunged so far under the water she was caught by a strong 'riptide' which stopped her from surfacing. Her body was found a mile upstream by the steps of Vauxhall Bridge at around 11am the following morning, despite intensive searches which started minutes after she was seen to fall. The inquest at Inner West London Coroner's Court heard that Miss Reddington-Romanov, 55, was born in Dunstable, Beds, as John James Reddington. She had lived most of her adult life as a woman, with GP notes from 2003 showing she was taking hormones. She legally changed her name in May 2005 and had a wide circle of friends both in and outside London. She worked as a facilities manager for affordable housing provider the Guinness Partnership, with colleagues describing her as 'a wonderful woman whose kindness and warmth lit up every room.' The court heard that on September 20 last year, she went for dinner with the owner of Soho jazz club Trisha's, Patricia Bergonzi. Friend of 15 years, Vanessa Frank, 48, said that Miss Reddington-Romanov had been so busy at work that she hadn't had a drink for a month and said she wondered whether the alcohol she had consumed that night had affected her particularly strongly. After her friend's death, Ms Frank viewed CCTV footage showing her near the bridge and said she appeared 'inebriated in a way I hadn't seen her before.' She remembered a previous occasion where her friend had cocked her leg up to urinate in a doorway when they were on a night out in Soho. 'She didn't undergo gender reassignment surgery,' Ms Frank told the court. 'She literally would lift one leg at a right angle and brace against something and that would allow her to manoeuvre as she wanted to. 'I viewed the video and I was not 100% left without doubt, but my strongest feeling was that she'd done as she normally did and at one point she tried to cock her leg and she lost her footing.' She said she and all of Miss Reddington-Romanov's friends were truly shocked by what had happened and had seen no sign of depression or worry. 'She was emotionally pragmatic, in a way where she knew life didn't always give you roses,' Ms Frank said. 'She was loved by all who knew her. She was one of the most well-balanced people I knew. If she had a problem she'd meet with friends and vent and talk it through.' Metropolitan Police officer Sgt James Lewis, of the emergency response unit at Charing Cross, said Miss Reddington-Romanov's fall into the water was witnessed by people who crowded round the spot on Westminster Bridge just after 3am on September 21. The government's security CCTV control centre was alerted too when the crowd was spotted peering into the darkened waters by operators. Sgt Lewis said officers were on scene by 3.28am, two marine units were ordered as well as a police helicopter which was later stood down. 'Natasha couldn't be seen,' he said. 'It was a fast-moving tide.' He said the body of a man dressed in women's clothing resurfaced eight hours later and attempts to identify the individual began. Meanwhile Miss Reddington-Romanov was reported missing when she didn't turn up for work as usual that Tuesday. A huge search operation which included appeals went out, explaining that she had last been seen between Greek Street and Bateman Street in Soho at around 2am as she headed to her home south of the river in Southwark. Sgt Lewis recovered CCTV footage of what happened from several angles but it was jumpy and didn't cover the exact moment the 55-year-old fell. 'She put her handbag on the ground and she reached over, she climbed over the bridge,' he added. 'Unfortunately the footage itself was jumpy. 'All you can see is Natasha climbing onto the side of the bridge and all of a sudden she wasn't there.' Coroner Mr Rogers said the 'critical nanomoments' were missing, adding: 'It doesn't help me identify whether she jumped or fell.' However the transwoman wasn't attacked or injured and third party involvement was ruled out, he went on. A post mortem examination showed that she had bruising to the forehead, most likely from striking a parapet on the way down, and had suffered a heart attack when in the water. Aside from river water in the lungs and stomach, there were no other injuries and the cause of death was given as drowning. A toxicology report showed Miss Reddington-Romanov was significantly intoxicated with a blood ethanol reading of 211mg per 100ml of blood. The legal limit for driving is 80mg. Readings of between 200mg and 300mg per 100ml of blood are consistent with a comatose state, however the coroner said that post mortem redistribution of alcohol occurs, meaning he could not be sure how drunk she had been when she fell. The 55-year-old was well known in Soho for her vibrant dress sense. After her death, Trisha's put up a tribute to her on Instagram, saying: 'Our Natasha Reddington-Romanov. Soho icon, showgirl, forever and always in our hearts. 'There will never be another one like you and the streets of Soho forever less glamorous. We love you so very very much. 'It is beyond words to express how much insurmountable gratitude I personally have for everyone who has helped us search for her and showed the outpouring of love and support she deserved. 'Thank you with all my heart.' Recording a conclusion of accidental death, Mr Rogers said: 'Natasha enjoyed her life and cared for others. She had many friends and was valued in her working life. 'She was not known as someone who was depressed or struggled with life. She had been out for dinner with a friend that night and the friend also saw nothing out of the ordinary. 'Natasha was walking back in the early hours, she was unsteady and walking more slowly than usual. She stopped and lifted her leg over the parapet and then she was gone. 'Ms Frank described a previous occasion when Natasha had lifted her leg in a similar way wearing undergarments which made it more difficult with her male genitalia. 'She said she saw that same movement on the CCTV. Natasha was significantly intoxicated when she entered the river. She sometimes performed this awkward manouvre to urinate when drunk.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
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EXCLUSIVE How Carlton v Collingwood, a table tennis comp and a country hotel infiltrated the mushroom murder trial which stopped the world
It's said all roads lead to Rome but by the end of the marathon Erin Patterson trial, all roads led to a country Victorian hotel which became the epicentre of the mushroom murder case. Bridges on Argyle in Traralgon started off hosting a couple of crusty Daily Mail journalists - including myself - but by the end of the 11-week slog, it housed homicide detectives, prosecutors, court staff, opposition reporters and, towards the end, the jury. The man holding it all together was Bridges manager/owner Steve, (surname withheld), who was the only person allowed to communicate with the jury during their week-long stay at Bridges. He was only allowed to refer to them as room 22, room 23 or similar - not by juror numbers and definitely not by their real names. There were other measures to ensure no 'cross-contamination' occurred while the 12 people tasked with deciding the trial of the century cohabitated with other guests in a well-run 74-room hotel, which almost never had vacancy. The jury was given private access to the breakfast room before they bussed to court to deliberate. The jurors also had access to the hotel function room to debrief before they were fed and sent to their rooms which were well away from any potential problems, like, maybe, a Daily Mail journalist. There were other key measures as well. For background, I had been staying at Bridges since the first week of the trial and I came to know the hotel well. Every morning when I'd step out for work it was hard not to notice the TV in the lobby was playing Sunrise which features regular news updates. There were also always three Herald Sun newspapers stacked neatly on the mantle beneath the TV. I would always glance at the front page which, believe it or not, often featured the Patterson trial update as the splash of the day. I then read that day's Patterson article before flipping the paper and reading about the diabolical situation my Carlton Blues are in. But I digress, that's another story for another day. I first smelled a rat when one morning I walked out and the TV was showing a re-run of maybe Becker? I can't remember, it might've been the American Family Feud. Also the Herald Suns were missing. I asked staff about the papers and was told they hadn't been delivered. Not long after, I sensed the jury was at the hotel. The TV channel had been switched and the papers removed so the jury couldn't even catch a glimpse of media reporting of the case. That was how airtight the measures were, and how strictly Steve and his staff adhered to their duty as the hotel keepers of the jury. Steve and his staff managed to juggle their duty with aplomb and there were never any issues or mishaps which could've caused issues and nothing occurred which may have led to the atomic outcome of a mistrial. The gentle balancing act to keep everyone segregated while running a busy hotel, a commercial enterprise, and not disrupting the trial, should be commended. One of the big questions during the deliberation was what the jury was allowed to watch in their rooms. Were they just to sit there and stare at the wall? Were they allowed to read? Surely some sort of visual entertainment was allowed. We reporters speculated free-to-air TV was out of the question, and it was. I suggested maybe they could watch DVDs, but that wasn't the case either. In the end, jurors were allowed to watch Netflix with the hotel having to register four new accounts just to accommodate their special guests. There were other allowances too. The jury was sent out to deliberate the week Carlton played Collingwood on Friday July 4. Despite the Blues' woeful form it was still one of the biggest games of the year. Now, I had a faint feeling that if any Carlton or Collingwood supporters were on the jury - and considering they're the two biggest sporting clubs in the country it was a huge chance - then they might have wanted to get the verdict done so they could go to the game. Maybe not a Carlton supporter - you could've kept me locked away for a year and I wouldn't have minded - but a Collingwood supporter, they would be keen as mustard to get to the 'G. In fact, there was a Collingwood supporter on the jury, a big one at that, but the jury failed to reach a verdict and they were holed up on the night of the big game. However, the Collingwood supporter was granted special access to watch the game on Kayo while under the supervision of a jury keeper. Even footy with its vast tentacles managed to reach inside the Erin Patterson murder trial. Unfortunately, another juror who supported a smaller club was denied permission to watch their team play, but that's how influential Collingwood is. Now, when I realised the jury was staying at Bridges, I predicted deliberations would go for three weeks. It was a complex case to decide and I'm sure the jury conducted themselves beyond reproach, but a juror or two would've relished the quality and service at Bridges. Comfortable, quiet, self-contained rooms with ensuite and kitchen, aircon (not that it was needed in Traralgon) and heating, comfortable and large flat screen TVs were the norm for guests. But the pièce de résistance, the cherry on top, the jewel in the crown at Bridges was the access to four or five really good restaurants which delivered to your room, courtesy of the hotel. I tell you, Hog's Breath, local Thai joint Zaab Zaab and Goodfella's Pizza wouldn't have seen more business than they did in those 11 weeks. I'm sure jurors had access to these and various other restaurants at their fingertips during their five nights at Gippsland's best hotel. Throw in the full cooked and continental breakfast - which included pancakes - and one may come to enjoy their time at Bridges. Now I'm not suggesting anything, but you put someone like myself on that jury, who has nothing better to do, and a gruelling task could start to seem like a holiday. Listen to this as a theory. The jury deliberated from Monday June 30 to Monday July 7. This included deliberations on Saturday July 5, the day after the Carlton game. What is not known is why the jury had to shift out of Bridges Saturday morning and stay at a vastly inferior motel deeper east into Gippsland. Just after lunch, on Monday July 7, after spending two nights in the new motel, and at the earliest possible opportunity, the jury reached its verdict. The reason the jury was shunted was because of the 2025 National Table Tennis Championships which were held at the Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium Traralgon. I knew because I was dealing with the Daily Mail's accommodation situation that the table tennis competition had booked out 29 rooms ten months in advance at Bridges. So it's a strong possibility the Table Tennis Championships had a direct bearing on a monumental moment in the history of the world. I don't want to seem flippant. Erin Patterson is a multiple murderer, the tragedy she caused has crippled her family and clearly would've crushed her children. Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson died and a pastor Ian Wilkinson almost died after spending several harrowing weeks in an ICU. Estranged husband Simon Patterson was invited to the deadly death-cap-laden beef Wellington lunch but did not attend. A large family has been torn apart and a community has suffered, but work needed to be done. Journalists needed to cover the case, lawyers on both sides of the fence worked tirelessly for months and months, security were polite and professional and court staff, including the media team, toiled around the clock. The jury listened patiently for weeks to digest an extremely complex case and it's very likely they reached their guilty verdict when they did, simply because that's when they reached the verdict. But if there was a ray of sunshine in all this, it's the people of Gippsland especially those in Morwell and Traralgon who served, fed and met the needs of hundreds who swarmed their towns to cover the trial of the century. On behalf of the Daily Mail, I'd like to personally thank Bridges on Argyle, Steve and his staff for not only putting up with us (there was the matter of the spilt lasagne) but also their friendly and accommodating service throughout the entire 11-week period. I'm looking forward to staying there again. The Daily Mail Australia did not encounter or speak to any jury members, and all information contained within this article was obtained after the verdict was handed down and after the jury had departed Bridges.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Major update after alleged thief stole $7,000 worth of right-footed shoes
A man has been charged after allegedly stealing dozens of right-footed shoes from a store earlier this month. The unusual theft occurred in Kenmore, Brisbane, at 7.30pm on July 7, when a man allegedly walked inside a shopping centre on Brookfield Road and stole 53 individual shoes. The shoes, from Shoe Fashions Kenmore, had been displayed on tables in the middle of a walkway in the centre. Following an investigation by Queensland Police, a 49-year-old Mount Gravatt East man was arrested at Broadbeach on July 17. The man appeared to have been living inside a tent with his dog when he was arrested. He has since been charged with one count of entering a premises and committing an indictable offence. The man was due to face court on Friday. Detective Senior Sergeant Brendan Blyth said the unusual nature of the crime played a key role in identifying the alleged offender. 'It's not every day you come across a case involving the theft of 53 right shoes,' he said. 'While the incident may be a bit unique and different in nature, it's a reminder that our officers take all reports seriously. 'Thanks to good CCTV coverage and assistance from the public, we were able to locate the shoes and return them to the business.' Police confirmed all of the stolen shoes have since been recovered and returned. Speaking to the Courier Mail, Shoe Fashions Kenmore owner Tamara Shorrock said at full price, the man took $7,000 worth of shoes. 'Someone had taken all our sale boots off the sale table. So there were 53 right-footed boots, and they took every single one of them,' Ms Shorrock said. 'It was covered up at the time as well. So we covered it up overnight. And look, we've been doing it for 29 years, and not one boot or shoe has been stolen over the years. 'So that's sort of why we leave the table where it is. It's never been an issue. 'I came into work on Tuesday to discover that they were all gone.' The footage of the theft shows the man calmly walking into the mall before he wandered around, seemingly listening to music through headphones plugged into his phone. The man then walked up to the middle of a common area where there were three separate stalls piled with display items that had been covered up for the night. He carefully unwrapped one stall's display and piled it into his suitcase, appearing to deliberately take his time so as not to draw attention to himself.
