A teen boy has been charged with a string of offences after allegedly hitting a woman with a stolen car as tens of thousands of people were running in the Melbourne Marathon nearby.
It comes as runners complained of safety concerns during the marathon, including one who claimed he and others were struck by pacing vehicles.
Police drew their guns on the teen’s Ford Escape after it hit the 57-year-old at the corner of Flinders and Elizabeth streets around 10.30am, about 150 metres from where tens of thousands of runners were taking part in the Melbourne marathon. The SUV went on to hit several parked cars and street signs on Flinders Lane.
The boy was eventually arrested without incident at Albert Park. Overnight, police charged him with ten offences, including reckless conduct endangering serious injury and failing to render assistance. The latter offence carries a penalty of up to ten years in prison on its own.
Police allege the vehicle was stolen from a business in Cranbourne South, nearly an hour’s drive from Melbourne, at 2am on Sunday.
The teen has been held in custody overnight ahead of facing children’s court on Monday morning, while police have confirmed the incident was not an act of terrorism or a targeted attack.
The woman suffered injuries to her upper body, though authorities say these are not life-threatening, and she remains in hospital as of the most recent update.
Around the same time, two competitors were reportedly injured by course vehicles in the Albert Park area.
Dr Nathan Freeman, based in Tasmania, took to social media claiming that he came across a female runner that had been hit by the pacer car for the men’s half-marathon, though she herself was running in the marathon.
Freeman said when he stopped to offer assistance, a passing motorcycle also there for the event clipped his back.
“It actually knocked me over almost down onto the patient,” he told his 88,000 Instagram viewers. “And they didn’t even stop, they just continued on.”
Freeman said the other runner would need surgery for a “major injury”, and weeks of recovery. “It’s good that they’ll be fine but just not acceptable [that this has happened],” he said.
The Age has contacted the Melbourne Marathon and Ambulance Victoria for comment.
The incident ultimately had no impact on the race, which was won by legendary marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge in a record time.
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