Jail for mum who hit 12-year-old girl outside Willetton high school

3 months ago 23

A Perth mum who ran over a 12-year-old girl but did not stop to see if she was OK or call the police has been sent to jail after a judge slammed her as “callous”.

Tahira Shaheen, 52, was hoping for a suspended sentence on Thursday in the District Court of WA but judge Laura Christian criticised every aspect of her defence argument, including that she had any remorse for her offending.

Tahira Shaheen was jailed for the hit and run of a 12-year-old girl.

Shaheen was driving her son to school on June 26, 2023 when she hit 12-year-old Alexis Lloyd at a school pedestrian crossing on Pinetree Gully Road near Willetton Senior High School.

At the time, police released several CCTV stills and footage of a vehicle in their search for the driver, who they claimed did not stop to assist the young girl after the incident.

Shaheen only had a learner’s permit at the time of the incident.

Alexis Lloyd in hospital after the crash.

The schoolgirl suffered two fractures to her collarbone and right leg, which required surgery and required her to spend weeks in a wheelchair.

Since then, Shaheen has employed what the victims’ family has called “stalling tactics” by attempting to claim she had an intellectual impairment that would have reduced her culpability.

On Thursday during her sentencing, it was revealed that Shaheen had embarked on a master’s degree in psychology in her native Pakistan and had since completed a certificate 3 in aged care.

“Your failure to stop or call for assistance was callous - you had no idea whether that person you hit was dead or alive,” Christian told her.

“You claim it was embarrassment that stopped you doing either of those things, but in circumstances where you didn’t have a driver’s license … the only rational conclusion is that you knew you would be in trouble.”

The court heard Shaheen had minimised her offending and claimed she thought she had run over a music instrument after hitting the girl.

Tory Carter, mum of Alexis Lloyd who was the victim of a hit-and-run incident in Willetton in 2023.

On Thursday, despite prosecutors accepting that a suspended term of imprisonment would be suitable, Christian said she felt this was “a serious example of this type of offending” and jailed her for a total of 16 months with eligibility for parole after eight months.

Outside court the victim’s mother, Tory Carter, told waiting media that prison was justified.

“This is what I was hoping for,” she said.

“I was hoping for a couple of years, and not so much for her - I’m sure she’s a lovely lady - but this does need to send that clear message to everybody that you can’t do that.”

Carter thanked WA Police for tracking down Shaheen after the incident through CCTV footage and eye-witness accounts.

“Today’s sentencing has brought justice finally for the callous hit-and-run of Alexis,” she said.

“We’re relieved that the court today finally recognise the seriousness of this crime. We hope that the outcome sends a clear message that leaving the scene of a crime and failing to take responsibility is unacceptable.”