A 19-year-old P-plate driver has been charged after allegedly causing a multi-car collision in Sydney’s northwest that killed a heavily pregnant woman and her unborn child.
The 33-year-old woman, who was eight months pregnant, was walking with her husband and three-year-old son on a footpath in Hornsby at approximately 8:00 PM on Friday.
Police allege the incident began when a 48-year-old man driving a Kia Carnival slowed to let the family cross the footpath at the George Street entrance to the Hornsby Train Station car park.
As the Kia slowed, it was allegedly struck from behind by a white BMW driven by the 19-year-old. The force of the impact propelled the Kia onto the footpath, striking the 33-year-old woman.
Paramedics arrived at the scene and found the woman critically injured. She was treated and rushed to Westmead Hospital, but both she and her unborn baby later died.
Her husband and three-year-old son were not physically injured.
Assistant Commissioner David Driver described the incident as a “terrible, terrible story” and “very confronting for first responders.”
The drivers of the BMW and the Kia, who were the sole occupants of their vehicles, were uninjured. Both were taken to hospital for mandatory testing before being released.
Charges and Investigation
Officers from the Crash Investigation Unit established a crime scene, which is believed to be covered by CCTV from the train station and a nearby Westfield loading dock.
Four hours after the incident, police arrested the 19-year-old man at a home in Wahroonga.
He has been charged with:
- Dangerous driving occasioning death – drive in a dangerous manner
- Negligent driving (occasioning death)
- Cause loss of foetus – death of pregnant woman
The 19-year-old was refused bail and is scheduled to appear at Parramatta Court on Sunday. Police inquiries, including analysis of the mandatory testing, are ongoing.