A young woman has been charged with the murder of another young woman, who had just dropped her daughter off at daycare and was allegedly run down and killed while walking along a Brisbane footpath.
Police will allege a 24-year-old woman was behind the wheel of an SUV that mounted the footpath and deliberately struck the 23-year-old mother in Daisy Hill in Brisbane’s south-eastern outskirts shortly before 9am on Friday.
The victim was taken from the scene on Allamanda Drive to the Princess Alexandra hospital where she later died from her injuries.
Detective Inspector Chris Knight said Queensland police would be alleging that this “event was not, in fact, an accident, and the young lady who tragically lost her life was in fact targeted by an individual”.
Speaking in Logan on Sunday, he said it was a “tragic incident” and that investigations were far from over.
“The young lady who lost her life was a mother,” Knight said.
“She had dropped her daughter off at daycare immediately prior to the event that ultimately took her life and of course, it is a gross understatement for me to say anything other than that family is deeply traumatised.”
Knight would not speculate on motive other than to say it would be “pivotal to our investigation” and that the driver and pedestrian knew each other.
After initial investigations on Friday and Saturday, a silver Toyota Prado was found at the 24-year-old woman’s home in Goodna, and she was later charged with one count of murder after being located in Yamanto.
Police were looking to speak with anyone who may have been around Allamanda Drive at about 8.50am Friday, especially passengers and the driver of a bus that drove along the road at approximately 8.50am on Friday 19 July to come forward.
Knight – a detective for more than 30 years – said the case was “unusual”.
He said police would allege the Toyota had been in that area for an “extended period of time leading up to the collision”, before fleeing the scene.
“For that reason, we don’t believe that it was an unfortunate random traffic accident,” he said.
“[The victim’] was walking on the footpath and that’s where we will allege the vehicle collided with her.”
The woman was due to appear before the Ipswich magistrates court on Monday.
• This article was amended on 22 July 2024 to correct the spellings of Goodna and Ipswich.
