A man and woman, both in their 40s, have been taken to hospital after an alleged hit-and-run incident in Sydney’s west that followed a dispute between neighbours, New South Wales police say.
The man, 41, was in a critical condition after suffering head, chest and leg injuries on Monday night while the woman, 42, was in a serious but stable condition after suffering head injuries.
The pair was allegedly hit by an SUV in Doonside “following reports of a neighbour dispute”, police said.
Det Supt Darren Newman told reporters that officers faced a “very difficult and confronting” situation upon arriving and it was a “horrible” scene.
Newman said the dispute allegedly began when the 41-year-old man was walking his dogs along the back of a property owned by a 29-year-old man.
Police allege the dispute went back and forth, with the older man leaving and then returning with his partner and 18-year-old daughter.
The 29-year-old then allegedly drove away in his car, before then returning and threatening the couple.
“He then reversed the car … back off from where everyone was standing,” Newman alleged.
“[Police will allege] he has then revved the car a number of times very aggressively, he then drove into the 42-year-old female and the 41-year-old male, causing significant injuries to both of them.”
Newman said the CCTV footage of the incident was “horrifying”.
“The screams that occurred just after the incident occurred are horrifying,” he said.
The man and woman were taken to Westmead hospital.
Newman alleged the driver fled the scene and hit a tree with his car, before he was found by police.
He was subsequently arrested and taken to Blacktown hospital where he remained under police guard.
He will face court after being charged with five offences including assault and dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm.
The man was refused bail, and was due to appear at Blacktown local court later on Tuesday.
Monday night’s incident comes after 28-year-old lawyer Mitch East died in a suspected hit-and-run incident in the city’s east on the weekend.
Emergency services were called Tamarama shortly after 4am on Sunday where they found East.
Paramedics performed CPR but were unable to revive the Arnold Bloch Leibler lawyer, who died at the scene.
Specialists from the NSW police crash investigation unit took over the case but were yet to make any arrests.
Investigators have appealed to the public for any relevant information, CCTV or dashcam footage that could assist police.
