Bus Driver Charged with Hit-and-Run Death of 42-Year-Old Man

Crown prosecutor Sophie Bicknell alleged that Kush Raj Rayamajhi, a 30-year-old off-duty bus driver, ran over a sleeping Indigenous man on Progress Drive in Coconut Grove on the night of May 29, 2024. The victim, a 42-year-old man who cannot be named for cultural reasons, was lying under a streetlight when Rayamajhi's vehicle struck him, causing fatal injuries. Despite the horror of the crash, Rayamajhi continued driving for several kilometers before stopping to check the damage to his car, claiming he believed he had hit a rock.

Key Takeaways:

• The victim was a 42-year-old Indigenous man who was intoxicated and lying on the road when he was struck by Rayamajhi's vehicle.
• Rayamajhi claimed he did not see the victim and believed he had hit a rock, despite two motorists stopping at the scene and witnessing the crash.
• Taxi driver Vankata Nukala testified that he saw the victim on the road before the sound of his body being run over, with the jury shown "distressing" dashcam footage of the fateful moment.
• Rayamajhi had been drinking with his friends at the Beachfront Hotel before picking up his father-in-law and a friend, and the victim had also been drinking with his family members at Litchfield Court.
• Rayamajhi's defense barrister Mark Thomas argued that the critical element of the trial was whether Rayamajhi knew he had struck someone on that fateful midnight drive.
• Two drivers, Allen Bruce and Vankata Nukala, testified that they saw the victim lying on the road and attempted to warn him, but Rayamajhi's vehicle struck him anyway.

Statistics:

• 42 years old: the age of the victim who was killed in the hit-and-run accident.
• 2 motorists: Allen Bruce and Vankata Nukala, who witnessed the crash and testified at the trial.
• 1 vehicle: Kush Raj Rayamajhi's bus, which struck the victim.
• 1 victim: the 42-year-old Indigenous man who was killed in the accident.
• 1 fatal injury: the victim suffered multiple blunt force injuries, including fractures to his skull, ribs, arms, and thigh.
• $ meters: the distance between the point where Bruce flashed his headlights and the point where he stopped to call emergency services.

Sources:

• The Northern Territory News
• Australian Associated Press
• The Guardian