A Perth mother has been sentenced to 16 months in jail after striking a schoolgirl with her car and then fleeing the scene.
Tahira Shaheen, who was only a learner driver at the time of the incident, repeatedly altered her account during the investigation into the case. The 52-year-old’s sentence was handed down today for the June 2023 incident outside Willetton Senior High School in Perth’s southern suburbs.
The victim, 12-year-old Alexis Lloyd, was using a pedestrian crossing when she was hit, suffering a broken leg and collarbone as a result. Shaheen drove away without stopping to help.
“We hope that the outcome sends a clear message that leaving the scene of a crime and failing to take responsibility is unacceptable,” stated Alexis’ mother, Tory Carter, expressing her sentiments on the verdict.
Shaheen was arrested more than two months following the collision. In her statement to the police, she admitted, “I knew I had hit someone but panicked.”
After being arrested more than two months after the crash, Shaheen told police “I knew I had hit someone but panicked”.
“I didn’t tell anyone. I was embarrassed because my child goes to Willetton Senior High School,” she said.
She was driving alone on her L-plates at the time.
The court heard Shaheen’s son came home and told her a student had been hit by a car.
Her husband later discovered damage to a vehicle, encouraging her to report it, but the 52-year-old said she didn’t know how it happened.
Her story changed throughout the case, later saying she thought she ran over a large musical instrument.
“Obviously the mental scars will be there for a long time to come but the physical ones seem to be going okay,” Carter said.
Despite the charges, the court heard Sheheen was granted a driver licence after hitting the 12-year-old.
“I think there’s something wrong with the system there, big time,” Carter said.
The 52-year-old could walk free in eight months.
