A Pakistani student died after a driver hit her while she prayed in the middle of a road in Adelaide, Australia.
The student, identified as 20-year-old Samia Malik, appeared to kneel in prayer on North East Road in Hillcrest for almost four minutes on the night of May 6, 2025. Witnesses saw her while CCTV cameras recorded her. Then 19-year-old Ashton Jacob Friend hit her.
The driver has received a suspended prison sentence and a 10-year driving ban, according to foreign media reports.
Friend kept driving after the crash. He pleaded guilty to causing the death by careless use of a vehicle and to leaving the scene of an accident after causing death. He faced sentencing on Friday.
The court heard that alcohol and drugs did not affect Jacob and that he was driving under the speed limit. He was looking in his rearview mirror during the seconds he needed to avoid hitting Malik.
“You had approximately 2.25 seconds from the moment your headlights would have detected [Malik] until impact,” Judge Anne Barnett told Friend.
“The reconstruction expert opines only that you may have, in light of that time frame, been able to avoid the collision or minimise your speed,” she said.
“You initially thought that you’d hit a kangaroo, that you hadn’t seen anyone when you were driving and there were no lights in the middle of the road, but you heard a noise under your car and saw reference to the incident on the news the next day,” the judge said.
Barnett said that Jacob realised he had hit a person only after he saw the news reports. She told the court that the community expects drivers to stay vigilant and attentive and to respond appropriately after accidents.
At a previous hearing, Jacob read an apology letter in which he accepted full responsibility for his “actions and inactions” and the “indescribable pain” he had caused.
“I know nothing I say can undo what I did or bring Samia back. I am deeply sorry for the life that was lost, for the grief and trauma caused to Samia’s family and loved ones,” he said.
Barnett sentenced Jacob to one year, three months and 29 days in prison, with an eight-month non-parole period. She suspended the sentence on a $500 good behaviour bond for two years.
She cited his genuine remorse, young age, good prospects for rehabilitation and the circumstances of the offending.
